


13 Horses

by showtiime



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood and Gore, Cruelty, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, M/M, Slow Build, Stockholm Syndrome, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:17:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 53,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7696165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/showtiime/pseuds/showtiime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a camping trip gone wrong, Alexander and his friends find themselves trapped in a dark basement, kept there by three strangers with an obsession for violence. Stuck in the middle of the woods, hope is looking bleak for them. However, with the help of another reluctant victim, there may be a shot of escaping the hell they've been forced into.</p><p>--</p><p> </p><p>  <em>The basement falls into silence as the door shuts. Alex can hear the drip of the water on the concrete beside him as he pulls against his shackles, which is loud in the quietness of the room. Nobody speaks until the footsteps above them fade away, then Alexander hears a voice from the other room, "We've been kidnapped by complete psychopaths."</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> to anyone wondering why i haven't updated jamilton college adventures in forever: this is why. (i promise i haven't forgotten about it, though!)
> 
> so this fic is going to be based off the song "13 horses" by alexander rybak, and i'm gonna have verses from the song in every chapter (the first chapter is kinda boring and i apologize for that). i'm gonna try to update this every saturday, and later i'll add any tags that i forgot to as this story goes on.
> 
> real quick shoutout to [J4M1LT0N_4_L1F3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/J4M1LT0N_4_L1F3), for joining me in jamilton hell and obsessing over the sin ship, [Minty_Fresh_1234](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Minty_Fresh_1234) for agreeing to beta this fic and giving me the confidence to write it, and [kolminye](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kolminye) for always supporting my stories, and if you read this one too, i'm just gonna say right now: i'm really sorry.
> 
> also honestly, just thank you to everyone who's ever read my stories. i don't say it as much as i should, but i seriously appreciate every single kudo and comment you guys give <333 you all are the best !!
> 
> anyways enough of my rambling, i hope you'll enjoy this story!

_thirteen horses swimming in the sea  
waiting for someone to find them_

 

The world is dark, blurry, and no matter how hard Alexander tries, he can't seem to fully open his eyes.

A severe headache pounds against his skull, his thoughts scrambling in his confusion and making it a lot worse. He can barely see anything through his heavy lids, only noticing a soft illumination of blue in front of him. His eyes go to follow it, but they close in protest at the pain that tugs at his head as he tries to turn. He keeps his head still, trying to ease the horrible feeling he woke up with. As he stays put, he hears more noise around him, but he barely registers it as he focuses on stopping his headache. After a few uneventful minutes pass, he suddenly feels a small droplet of water fall on his nose, and that seems to be all it takes to jolt him into reality.

He groans again in misery, whimpering as his head falls back against something solid and rough. The movement shoots a spike of agonizing pain through his head, and he attempts to cry out in distress, but the noise comes out feeble and quiet.

It's loud enough to draw attention, though, and he hears a soft, hesitant whisper, "Hello?"

His eyes are wide open now, but he can still hardly see anything. He keeps his head still and follows the blue light, recognizing now that it's moonlight shining down on smooth ground. He tries to use it to find who whispered for him, not able to connect the voice to anyone he knows. He still can't see anything, but his curiosity gets the best of him, and he asks quietly, "Hello?" 

There's a pause. "Alex?" the voice says, much louder this time.

The voice sounds feminine and familiar... He tries to rack his brain for a name belonging to them, but his mind still feels slightly muddled, so he goes for asking, "Who's there?" His voice sounds oddly slurred to him.

"It's me, Eliza," the voice responds. Alexander can immediately recognize that it's her now that he knows, and he feels much more awake when he hears the fear in her tone.

His headache is still there, but now his confusion overrides his desire to fall back and cry from the pain. He strains to look around at his surroundings, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness, and he can just barely make out a few shapes around him.

The first noticeable thing, other than the bright moonlight, is that he can see Eliza watching him from across the room with wide eyes, a glow of blue reflecting from them. She's sitting in the middle of two other people, both having their heads bowed, so he can't recognize who they are. Eliza's hunched over in what looks like a painful position, her arms behind her back as she pulls against something with a frustrated hiss. It takes him awhile to realize that she and the people next to her are chained to the wall behind them.

It takes him even longer to realize that he's in the same predicament.

"Shit," he curses out loud, pulling and realizing that his hands are behind his back, now noticing the feel of the shackles that wrap around his wrists and restrain him. He feels a wave of panic threaten to wash over him as the old, familiar feeling of being trapped comes back to him. "Shit, _shit_ , Betsey, what's happening? Where are we?"

"I have no idea," she answers, her voice wavering in her fear. Alexander hears her shift around in an attempt to look at her own chains. "I can barely remember a thing..."

Alexander tries to search his mind for any clues or hints that could tell him how they ended up here, but can't come up with much. _We were all going camping..._ He can at least remember that. However, his thought process stops there, and he can't seem to get any farther than that.

His mind feels hazy, as if yesterday was only static. He desperately tries to clear it away, but then pauses as he hears the groan of a person waking up beside him.

The noise makes him jump, then wince at the pounding against his head his movement provokes. He watches the person on his left, noticing that they're waking up almost as slowly as he did. Then, he hears a shocked gasp, and the person bolts upright. The action is followed by a pained grunt as their head smacks against the wall behind them.

"The fuck--?" they start to say, the shackles on their wrists clinking as they tug on them.

Alex feels another drop of water fall onto his hair, but he ignores it in order to sigh gratefully. Even though his voice is confused and nervous, Alex can always take comfort in the presence of his best friend.

"John," he whispers, seeing his friend startle at his name the same way he did when he first heard Eliza's voice.

"Alex?" John asks, twisting around in his chains. "What the hell is going on here? Where are we?"

Alex can only shrug. "We don't know," Eliza's voice echoes from her place across the room before he can speak.

At John's confused expression, Alex says, "That's Eliza." He taps his fingers on the metal of his shackles, feeling the bumps of rust, then falls back against the wall. "All I remember is that we decided to go camping, and something must have happened last night." His head begins to fall to his right on its own accord, and he fears he'll fall unconscious again due to the pain until he notices there's another person sitting next to him.

He startles again, surprised he didn't realize they were there. They look asleep, and since Alex has gotten used to the dark, he can almost make out who it is. Their head is bowed, just like the people next to Eliza, and with one quick glance he can see they're trapped in chains as well.

"Yeah, I remember that," John answers his statement. "I just... I can't remember how we got here." Grunting, he adds, "I have a killer headache, though."

Alex doesn't answer, trying to figure out who the other person beside him is. After another second of staring, the hair is what gives it away, and somehow Alexander's headache only gets worse.

Neither of the other two that are awake speak anymore, as if they're trying to remember more from that night. Alex almost wants to let the other man stay asleep, but he's scared and wants to make sure he's still alive, so he shifts around so he can try to push him awake with his foot. "Jefferson, wake up," he hisses.

Jefferson makes a noise of protest, but with more prodding from Alexander, he lifts his head tiredly. His eyes fly open when he realizes they're nowhere near their camping spot, and his head whips around to face Alex.

"What--" he begins, struggling against his bonds.

"No idea," Alex interrupts, shifting around in his chains. "We can't remember a lot."

"Wait, hold on," John says before Jefferson can open his mouth to ask more questions. Alex moves to face him, seeing his head turned to his left. "Hey, wake up!" He tries to look past John, and it's so dark that he almost doesn't see the two shapes in the corner. One is laying down on the floor, shaking in their sleep, while the other jolts and snores softly.

"Who are they?" Jefferson asks.

"Don't know yet," John says in reply, still calling out for them to wake up. Eliza starts to do the same for the two beside her, gently nudging the figure on her right with her shoulder.

They hear a snort of someone waking up in the corner near John while the other starts to slowly move, turning onto their back. Alex can also hear the two beside Eliza start to wake up with confused groans.

A mumble of dazed French, along with a deeper voice asking, "What's going on?"

Alex is grateful that he can recognize the two voices easily. "Laf, Washington," he says in a way of greeting.

Washington doesn't seem to have expected someone to respond to him, and he looks wide eyed at the sound of his voice. "Alexander? What's happening?" Washington asks as Lafayette keeps muttering French phrases in his disorientated state, his chains shifting loudly in the quiet room as he moves himself upright.

He doesn't get the chance to respond as he hears a cry of fear from one of the people sitting next to Eliza. The other person on Eliza's right wakes up at the sound, and Eliza quickly goes to console them.

"Who's there?" John asks before Alexander can.

The person crying is too terrified to answer, but Alex hears a grainy reply from the other, "James." The man says nothing else, only turning his head away to cough.

"Maria, please, you have to calm down," Eliza says, doing the best she can for the terrified woman in her trapped state.

Alex can feel another drip of water fall onto him. He glares at the ceiling, then bites his lip to stop the pained noises that want to escape at the angry ache inside of his head. He's about to ask the four that just woke up if they remember anything from the camping trip when he hears more movement, followed by a quiet voice.

The sounds are practically muffled, and it's obvious that the person isn't in the same room as the ones already awake. Still, the sounds don't escape their notice, and they turn to where they're coming from.

"Can you guys see anything?" Alex asks, squinting his eyes as if it'll help him find them.

"Nothing," Eliza replies, lifting her head and trying to find the source.

"Nope," John says, shaking his head.

They stay quiet after that, listening to the sounds. They hear a confused noise, then a, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Alex can't decipher this voice, but it's clear that Eliza does as she yells out in response, "Angelica!"

A pause, then, "Eliza! Is that you? Where are you?"

Eliza gives a sigh of relief at her voice. "It's me!" Eliza calls back to her. "We have no idea, but it sounds like we're in a different room from you."

"We?" Angelica asks in response.

"Alex, Maria, James, Thomas, John, Laf, and Washington are with me," she responds. "We can't remember how we got here."

Alex can't help himself, asking before Angelica can respond, "Do you remember anything from that camping trip?" He's still trying to rack his brain for anything that can give them information. The haziness of that night is starting to really bother him.

More movement. "Hold on," Angelica says, her voice going quiet. She sounds as if she's talking to someone.

At that realization, Alex tries to remember everyone who went on the camping trip with them. He can vaguely remember his horror when Lafayette announced he was inviting Jefferson, and Jefferson was inviting Madison and Burr.

He looks Madison's figure now, curled in on himself in his harsh coughing. Then, a quick glance at Jefferson, who's scanning his dark surroundings with narrowed eyes. He lifts an eyebrow when he meets Alexander's stare, a silent question of why he's watching him.

Alex huffs in response, then turns back to listen for Angelica. _Is Burr in there with her?_ he wonders. He knows his three best friends came with him, and he knows now that John and Laf are with him in this room...

 _What about Hercules?_ he thinks with a sudden rapid rise of panic. He looks around the room, not seeing any other figures hunched over in the darkness. The worse situations of what could have happened to him start darting around his mind, and even though he tries to tamper it down, it refuses to be let go, and the throbbing in his head grows worse.

"Angelica!" Alex calls out desperately for her, wincing at the volume of his voice. He asks more quietly, "Who's all in there with you?"

She takes a few seconds to respond, but finally says, "Theodosia's next to me. There's a few others in here, but it's too dark to see them." Alex feels a hopeful soar in his chest, thinking that Hercules had to be one of the others with her.

The relief in his chest is dashed away to be replaced by a pitying twist as he hears the fearful ring of Theodosia's voice, "What's going on? Where are we?"

It breaks Alexander's heart to have to tell her that he has no clue. "Something happened on that camping trip," Washington says, tilting his head in thought. He tugs at his restraints with a frustrated and pained grunt. "How the hell did we end up here, though?" 

Maria gives another fearful whimper, attempting to hide behind her knees.

Alex doesn't miss that, and neither does Eliza. "Maria, do you remember anything?" she asks, trying to coax the girl out of her dismay in order to speak.

The woman frantically shakes her head, whispering, "No, no, please, no," constantly as she rocks back and forth.

Alex turns to face John, and they're close enough that Alex can see the horror in his expression. He feels his own heart beating quickly in fear that he hasn't felt for a long time, hating how disorientated he is and that he can't remember anything. He feels another splash of water on his cheek, and he grits his teeth to stop the biting curse he wants to snap at the invisible source.

Lafayette's voice startles him out of his thoughts. " _Je pense que_ ," he rasps, then pauses when he realizes he's speaking French. It's obvious that he's struggling to translate his words into English, and after a few stuttering seconds, he clears his throat and tries again, "I think that I can... recall?" He sounds unsure of his wording, but nobody bothers to tell him he's right.

"What? Where are we?" Jefferson demands, trying again to fight against his shackles with an angry growl.

Lafayette taps a rhythm onto the wall behind him. "I do not recall much," he mutters sadly. "I think... I felt someone pulling me by my hair, and I saw a few men." He tries to lift his hands to his head, then sighs when he realizes he can't. "I heard glass breaking. I believe I saw something being broken over someone's head."

The mention of it makes the throbbing in his head grow worse in panic. He bites the inside of his mouth and tries to will the pain away. _At least that explains it_ , he thinks. Still, the vague explanation does nothing to make him feel better, and his stomach begins to twist in knots.

"Guys!" Angelica interrupts. "Aaron and Hercules are awake now. Is everyone over there okay?"

 _Aaron and Hercules_. The confirmation that everyone is accounted for makes the weight in his chest lift for just a second, then feels it drop back down as he realizes that they can't possibly be safe. He barely hears Washington retell Lafayette's memory of the previous night as he lets the thoughts of what could happen make his fear grow bigger.

Then, they hear the floorboards above them creaking.

They all freeze. Even Maria pauses in her tears.

The creaking sounds almost directly above Alexander's head, and he feels another annoying drip of water on his forehead. This time, he's too terrified to care. 

He thinks for one glorious moment that maybe they're going to walk away from them as they start to distance themselves above him. The hope is smashed as he hears them pause only a little bit ahead of him, then hears the soft twist of a doorknob. 

Alex sees a door swing open, and bright, golden light appears from the top of the room. He now notices the old wooden stairs, and his hearts leaps into his throat as a silhouetted figure begins walking slowly down them. His eyes are sharp with focus in his fear, and he can see the wooden boards bending under the person's step. The person holds a flashlight, moving it onto their faces.

All of them have the same idea of pretending to still be asleep, although Alex knows that it's probably no use, since they might have been able to hear them earlier. The person moves the flashlight across the room, and Alex tries not to wince as it lands on him. It goes away soon, though, as the person descends further down the steps. They shine the light over another doorway that was previously hidden in the darkness, and Alex quickly realizes that must be the room Angelica and the others are in.

The person seems to do the same thing, sweeping the flashlight and stepping back. Alex is hopeful for a moment, thinking that maybe they fooled whoever came down here, but then he hears a low chuckle and a loud call, "Hey, Reynolds! They're awake."

Alex feels a rising sense of dread bubble in his chest as he hears a responding, "Just a second!" He dares to open his eyes, watching the man as he steps further in the other room. A few seconds after that, light shines out the doorway, and Alex watches as the man starts to walk in his direction. He feels a small spike of fear as he gets closer, but the man stops only a few feet away from him, reaches above his head, and pulls a string.

The man turns off his flashlight as the room is engulfed in bright light. Alex can't help the groan of pain at the fierce, aching feeling that rushes through his head, but he forces himself to push against the pain that strains against his eyelids so he can now easily observe his surroundings.

As Alexander could already guess from the freezing, disgusting floor, he sees that they're sitting on concrete. He gets a clear view of the man who's currently looking around the room, judging them silently. He looks fairly tall, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, eyes roaming over them. Alex doesn't like the way his gaze lingers on Maria and Eliza.

The room they're in is small. The walls are filthy, with something that looks like dirt and mud smeared and dotted across them. He can see pipes running along the ceiling above them, and he just barely dodges the next drop of water that falls from them. Alex doesn't bother trying to hold up the pretense of sleep anymore, instead he moves so he's not under the leaking pipe and turns around to look at the chains restraining him. They're scratched up and dark with rust, attached to the wall behind him. He gives another pointless tug. Although they look old, they do serve their purpose.

Alex looks around at his friends, noticing the man is watching him intently now. He tries to ignore the chill that goes up his spine in order to observe his friends' conditions.

Since John is the closest, he looks over to him first. He notices that his hair is matted with blood from a wound he can't see. A long, thin cut stretches down his right cheek and forehead, looking as if it barely missed his eye. Turning his head to Jefferson, he can see a few small cuts across his jaw.

He has to lean a little bit to look for Washington and Lafayette. They sport similar injuries, although with the way Washington is flinching at every movement of his arm, Alexander suspects he dislocated his shoulder. Lafayette's face is covered with deep bruises, and he looks like he's on the verge of passing out.

Eliza, James, and Maria are a good distance away from Alexander, but that doesn't stop him from noticing the wounds they have. Some of Maria's hair falls over her forehead, but he can see the hidden damp spot under it as dark blood drips down her face from the wound. James appears to not have many physical injuries other than a few bruises, but he looks sick. _He must be near a lot of dust_ , Alexander thinks, watching him shake as he tries to hold in his coughs. Eliza bears a few cuts and bruises on her arms as well as a black eye, but she stares defiantly at their captor, daring him to turn and face her.

Alex feels another throb of pain against his head, and he doesn't know if he should be grateful or not that he can't see his own appearance.

The man ignores Eliza's glare, and instead turns to face the staircase as they hear approaching footsteps. Alex feels another twist of fear in his stomach, noticing that it sounds like there's more than one person coming.

He's right.

It's one man followed by another, and they descend just as slowly as the first did. The first one approaching wears an intimidating expression, his outfit just as plain as the man who first came down here. Meanwhile, the other is dressed in fancier clothes and arrogantly holds his head up high, as if he's more important than them. However, as the intimidating man approaches, Alexander can tell that he's the one in charge. _That must be Reynolds_ , Alexander thinks, remembering the name the first man called for.

He approaches the other room first, peering inside and humming thoughtfully. He stays in the doorway, looking between both rooms as he calls out a greeting, "Welcome!" He throws his hands up and wears a big, mocking smile. "I'm glad to see you're all awake."

"Where the fuck are we?" John snaps, twisting around and glaring at the men.

"That's not important," the other man speaks, his voice carrying a British accent. He looks at the man who appears to be in charge, saying, "Are we gonna get started, then?"

Alexander feels himself go cold at the implication. Washington opens his mouth before the man can respond, asking in a pained voice, "Which one of you is Reynolds?"

The men turn to him in surprise, obviously not expecting that question. _He's stalling_ , Alexander realizes, looking at him as he glares at them, _thank god_.

Alex also sees that he was right, as the one who appears to be in charge says, "Oh, looks like we've forgotten our manners." Putting a hand over his chest in a proud gesture, he says, "I'm Reynolds. The man you first met is Lee," a nod in the direction of the man to his left. Then, another nod to the man on his right, "and this is George. He prefers to be called King George, though." He lifts his hand up to his mouth, acting like he's telling them a secret, "He's a bit of a pompous ass, but don't tell him I said that."

All three laugh at that, and George rolls his eyes and says, "Shut the fuck up."

Alex shares a terrified look with John at how casual they act, as if this is only a game to them. He can't help looking at Jefferson, seeing him watch them with a look of disgusted horror.

The room begins to quiet down as their laughing eases, and Washington continues to distract them by asking, "How did you get all of us here?"

Reynolds shares a look with Lee, and George taps his foot on the ground, looking at them with a grin. "Yes, how _did_ you manage to pull off such a stunt?" he asks. He turns back to their victims, saying, "I wasn't with them, so I'm afraid I can't tell you the story. I was staying behind with my dear Sammy." He doesn't elaborate on who he's talking about, but Alex can't be bothered to care as he listens.

Reynolds gives a shrug. "Chloroform was taking too long to work, so Lee and I used a few broken bottles and drove you here in my truck," he tells them with a grin. "Hope we didn't give too many of you concussions."

They chuckle at that, and as they do, Maria gives a sharp scream of, "Help!"

Lafayette, Eliza and Washington join her, and that only seems to make the three laugh even harder. "Now, there's no use in that," Lee says once he calms down, pausing every few seconds to chuckle. "We're surrounded by hundreds of miles of woods. Nobody's gonna hear you down here."

Still, they don't give up, and their captors' laughter fades as they start to get annoyed by it. Reynolds turns away, waving a hand and saying over their cries, "I guess we should give you all some time to adjust, then. We'll be back later." With that, he walks back up the stairs. Lee and George go to turn off the light in both rooms, then they quickly head after Reynolds.

The basement falls into silence as the door shuts. Alex can hear the drip of the water on the concrete beside him as he pulls against his shackles, which is loud in the quietness of the room. Nobody speaks until the footsteps above them fade away, then Alexander hears a voice from the other room, "We've been kidnapped by complete psychopaths."

 _Hercules_. He huffs a strained laugh in agreement, relieved to know he's alive. 

"What the fuck are we gonna do?" he hears Burr's voice travel to him. "We're stuck here, with no possible escape route--"

"Somebody will have to realize something's wrong when they don't hear from any of us," Eliza says, hesitantly, as if she's afraid their captors are listening. She turns her head to Maria, who's started to visibly shake again. "It'll be okay," she tries to soothe her, "we just have to stay calm. Help will come for us."

Alexander tries to take a few deep breaths, as does Maria, to calm down the fearful storm in his head. Nobody bothers to speak after Eliza, what would they even say? He can't see them anymore, so he only imagines the sight of his friends, sitting deep in thought as they try to come up with a plan on how to escape.

Dawn eventually comes, sunlight shining from the only small window they can see. Even though he knows it's unrealistic to expect help soon, he can't help feeling disappointed as every minute ticks by with nobody coming to their aid.

All he can do is sit there, waiting for the inevitable return of their captors, thinking of all the things that could happen while only making his headache worse. He closes his eyes, tries to block out the light, and begs the heavens for help.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!beware of violence!! a lot of violent things are gonna take place after this so please be aware of that!!

_their ship is gone_  
_and now they are alone_  
_with water everywhere around them_

 

Alexander wakes up to the sounds of screaming.

His eyes fly open, and he forgets for a second where he's at as he looks around the room in a dazed confusion, but then his memory comes rushing back to him at once. A wave of nausea threatens to overtake him, but he gulps and tries to force away the haziness of his vision.

Their captors had promised hours ago to be back, and it seems like they've decided to follow up on their promise, as he's greeted by the sight of Reynolds fastening a blue collar around Maria's neck. She tries to pull away and thrashes against him, but he's too strong for her. Eliza tries to kick at his knees, but Lee grabs her by her hair and slams her head against the wall. James attempts to do the same, but George is there to stomp his heel into his stomach, making him groan in pain.

The others yell out their protests and angry demands to let Maria go. Alex blindly yells his own in his fear, and the calming words their captors try to say are drowned out. Reynolds sighs, giving up on trying to stop their panicked screaming while releasing Maria from her shackles. He hooks another smaller pair of cuffs over her wrists as soon as she's freed, and then he attaches a leash onto her collar, saying, "C'mon, hon! C'mon!" He whistles for her, treating her like an actual animal. She writhes in panic, trying to wrestle her way out of the collar.

"Let her go, you insane asshole!" Eliza says through gritted teeth. Lee's hand tightens in her hair, making her wince.

"Would you rather take her place?" Lee sneers, his grin growing predatory as he stares down at her.

"No!" Maria screams as Reynolds begins to force her up the steps, falling down on her knees at a particularly harsh tug from the leash. "Eliza, Alex, someone help me!" Her pleading makes Alex attempt again to break out of his bonds, but the chains are secure and keep him restrained to the wall.

"Leave her alone!" Alex growls, straining against his cuffs in a fruitless attempt to escape.

"I'm gonna have her upstairs for the next thirty minutes," Reynolds speaks to the other two captors, completely ignoring the screaming protests of their victims as he continues up the steps. "You two can do whatever you want down here, just don't kill anyone yet." 

_Yet_. The word hangs heavily in his mind, the weight of it pressing down beside the headache still throbbing against his skull.

Alexander watches in horror as Maria's body goes limp in a last attempt at resistance, making choked noises as she's dragged up the steps. Her body disappears as they reach the top, the door closing behind them. Her cries continue, growing distant as they get further from the basement.

Alex pulls his eyes away from the top steps to look back at Lee and George. Lee's tying a cream colored apron around his body, stained with what Alexander can only assume is blood. George taps his feet impatiently on the ground, then gives a noise of shock as he seems to remember something.

"One second, Charles," George purrs, racing up the steps, calling, "Sammy! Sammy, come to the basement, please."

Alexander watches him nervously as he leaves, slamming the door shut and walking away to find the man he's looking for. He hears Lee give an exasperated groan, then the clinking of what sounds for a second like silverware on a platter.

He looks to see what Lee is doing, and realizes how incredibly wrong he was.

Lee stands in front of a steel table in the farthest corner from them, different types of weapons strewn across the top. He's put on gloves, and twirls the hilt of a kitchen knife around in his hand with a thoughtful expression, then shakes his head and sets it back down. He picks up a needle instead, reading the label for switching it out for a different one. Once he finds whatever he's looking for, he walks into the other room.

Alex can hear the frantic yelling in the other room, and the sound of chains unlocking as well as the voice of Burr above the rest, "Don't fucking touch her! You can hurt me if you want, but don't you _dare_ hurt her!"

He watches, frozen in horror, as Lee hauls Theodosia out of the other room. He slaps her as she struggles, then kicks her to the ground in the middle of the main room, calling out to the other room, "Don't worry, guys. You'll get a show some other time." He lifts the needle, and Alex barely registers the screams of his friends as he watches Lee jab it into Theo.

He hears the door to the basement open again, and the sound of hurried running down the steps. "You better not have started without us!" George's voice calls excitedly. 

Lee laughs and says to the approaching man, "I only gave her an adrenaline shot, not much has happened yet." George jumps onto the ground at the last few steps, and now Alex can see another figure walking more hesitantly behind him.

"C'mon, Sammy, you're gonna miss it if you keep walking so slowly," George says, holding up what Alex recognizes is a camera. "Time to get the before picture. Say cheese!"

Lee gives an exaggerated smile as Theodosia sobs in fear, the camera flashing and clicking. George looks at the picture for a second, then nods at Lee. "Let's get started!" he says, turning to look at the man who's just now reached the bottom step. "There you are, Sammy, what took you so long?"

The man doesn't say anything, only shrugs and gives a half-smile. He looks terrifying, but not in the way Alex had imagined he would be. He wears clothes as nice as George's, but they're big on him and he doesn't look comfortable in them. He shifts around nervously and stares at the ground, refusing to meet their eyes. He isn't quite intimidating, but the thing that makes Alex inhale sharply is the long, thin scar that starts next to his left eye, trailing down the side of his throat and disappearing into his shirt. He hears John make a noise of shock, and Alex knows he must have noticed it, too.

 _What could have done that to him?_ Alex thinks, horrified, as he continues staring. _How did he even_ survive _that?_

George frowns at Sam, ignoring the rest of them as Lee walks back to the table and observes the different choices of weapons while Theo keeps crying on the floor. "Sammy, you're not being very polite to our guests," George scolds.

Sam lifts his head for a second, the bright pink of the scar reflecting in the light for a moment as he stares at them. Those who didn't notice it before now fall silent in their horror. "Sorry," Sam whispers, his eyes falling back to the ground. "I... I'm Samuel."

George beams at that, saying, "There you go, good boy!" He turns back to watch Lee as he finally decides on a cleaver, walking back to Theodosia. She begins screaming louder, as does Burr when he hears her. She tries to scramble to her feet, but Lee catches her and shoves her back down, straddling her thighs and keeping her trapped.

"How lovely," Lee murmurs. "Now be a good girl and don't move, okay?" He begins lightly dragging the blade of the weapon down from her cheek and to her throat, barely leaving a mark. Theodosia's screams soften as she stills, but she still breathes heavily in her fear, and Alex listens to Aaron as he begins to cry for her, begging for them to leave her alone.

Neither George or Lee pay attention, focusing intently as Lee begins to dig the blade deeper as he moves down the middle of her chest. Her shirt begins to tear, and Alex sees a small line of crimson begin to trail down her side. Her back arches and she shrieks in pain, making the others scream out their terror.

Alex hears swift movement, and looks over to see that Sam has attached himself to George's side. His neatly combed golden-brown musses up as he tries to hide his face in George's chest, trembling.

"My King," Sam says, turning his head to watch her bleed with a horrified expression. Alex is confused for a moment why he's calling him that, then remembers what Reynolds told them in their introduction. He thinks that if he weren't frozen in alarm at what he's seeing, he would demand an explanation as to why he's using that title for the terrible man.

George laughs in adoring amusement, wrapping an arm around Sam and saying, "Oh, love, it's okay. They can't hurt you."

Theo jerks under Lee as he suddenly slashes down, blood spurting from the quick cut. Lee grins maniacally down at her, setting the weapon beside her to run his gloved fingers down the wound. The squishing noise of his hand moving through flesh accompanied by Theodosia's agonized screams makes Alex turn his head away to cringe. He thinks if he had anything in his stomach, it would have emptied at the noise alone.

He does hear somebody vomit, though, and Alex opens an eye to see James heaving to his side. While he looks in his direction, he can see Jefferson's eyes widening as he watches the scene, as well as Lafayette and Washington desperately trying to escape their cuffs. Washington gives a grunt of pain at the stress on his shoulder, but he doesn't stop.

"A-Aaron," Theodosia sobs as Lee pulls away, looking at his hand, now covered in blood, "oh, god, i-it hurts."

Burr hiccups on a choked noise, and Alex can hear him as he twists around in his chains, but to no avail.

" _George_ ," Sam whispers, his voice sounding tight and frightened. He looks pleadingly at the taller man, who meets his gaze with a neutral expression.

Alex can tell that there seems to be some kind of meaning in the looks they share, but he can't figure it out as George caves in. "Okay, Lee, that's enough," George sighs.

Lee lifts his head up to glare at him, asking in disbelief, "Are you serious? We've barely started!"

George raises an eyebrow at him. "You do remember what Reynolds told us before he left, right?" he asks.

"Yes, but-" Lee tries to start, but is cut off again by George.

"And you do realize that if you continue making wounds like that, you'll end up killing her?" Alex grits his teeth at the calmness in his tone, but feels his heart's rapid beating as they both argue over whether or not to continue.

"But-"

George's eyes darken in warning, and Lee looks like he wants to protest more, but obviously thinks better of it.

"Ugh, fine. Calm down, baby," Lee says, stroking his crimson-soaked hand over Theodosia's cheek. He lifts himself up and takes the syringe and cleaver with him, setting them back down on the table and grabbing a different needle, the same one he was looking at earlier. He leans under the table, grabbing a mahogany-colored towel that rests neatly beside a medical bag. Walking back over to her, he sits at her side and stabs the needle into her, whispering, "This'll make you feel better, okay? There's no need to cry."

They watch as it begins to take effect. Alex tries to see how deep the wound is, but from the amount of blood pooling underneath her, he wonders if he really wants to know. Her eyes are still wide and her body shudders from her deep breaths, so Alex knows she's at least still awake. He doesn't know whether or not it's a good thing that she hasn't passed out.

Theodosia's crying begins to calm down into shaking. Lee bends her upward, sticking the towel underneath her and wrapping it around the wound he created. Alex watches her blood seep into the towel, barely paying attention to Lee as he stands up again and pulls George over to the table, Sam following after them. All Alex can do is pray desperately to any god he can think of to save Theodosia's life.

Lee whispers something angrily to George. Alex can't hear what he says, but whatever it was makes Sam shrink down and try to hide behind George. George meets his rage calmly, casting a glance in Theodosia's direction. He says, "You heard what Reynolds said," then walks over to her and kneels by her side.

"Wanna help me, Sam?" George asks, picking her up in a motion that seems too reverent for someone like him. Sam's shoulders sag in relief, and he nods, hurrying ahead of George to open the door to the basement.

"What are you gonna do to her?" John asks suspiciously before anyone else can.

George doesn't look behind him, continuing carefully up the stairs as he says, "Don't worry about it. Sammy and I know what we're doing." He doesn't elaborate or respond to the other questions they throw his way, slowly leaving the basement and kicking the door shut. Burr continues his fearful crying, whispering words too quiet for Alexander's ears, but they sound pleading, as if he's praying as well.

Lee sighs once George is out of earshot, ignoring Burr. "He's too soft on that boy," he says with a shake of his head, something akin to regret in his voice. He pulls off the gloves, his fingertips getting droplets of blood on them as he sets the used gloves down. Then, grabbing a rag hanging off the side of the table and a spray bottle, he begins to clean off the cleaver.

"You're sick," Washington spits at him.

Lee grins at that as if he's been given a compliment. "Been told that once or twice," he says, dragging the rag between the blade, already coating it in a crimson color.

A loud scream is heard upstairs. They all look at the ceiling, helplessly listening to the sound as Burr yells out for Theodosia. Lee looks like he couldn't care less, humming a quiet tune while they try yelling at him. He finishes cleaning his weapon and begins organizing the items on the table, acting like he's not even paying attention to the rest of them.

"You're fucking horrible," Angelica snaps from the other room. Lee only continues humming along to the music in his head.

"What kind of sick bastard does something like that?" Eliza screams. Still, no response. Alex can see his lips curved into a smile, as if he's enjoying their reactions.

The next few minutes pass like that, the victims throwing insults to their captor as he acts like he couldn't care less. His expression changes, though, when he hears what Jefferson yells.

"You're just a fucking coward," he snarls at him. Alex can see Lee pause, but Jefferson either doesn't notice or care. "Why else would you--" He cuts himself off as Lee suddenly towers over them, a scalpel in his tight grip. He holds it under Jefferson's chin, and Alex watches as the blade draws closer to his throat.

"You don't fucking know me," Lee hisses as Jefferson freezes, eyes focused intently on the weapon. "You saw what I did to Theodosia, I could kick your ass."

"Unchain me and we'll see who's really the strongest here," Jefferson says tightly. His voice is angry, and the only thing that gives away his fear is his shaking.

The mention of Theodosia's name doesn't get past Alexander, though, and he asks quietly, "How do you know her real name?"

Lee pauses again for a second, weapon still held against Jefferson's throat, but then pulls away and smiles, as if nothing happened. "Oh, that," he says with a shrug. "Well, other than your friend screaming for her, we went through your stuff at your camp site, so I know most of your names." He points the scalpel around the room, saying, "You're, uh... Taber? Todd?" He stops to think, tapping his foot on the ground, then snaps his fingers as he remembers and says, "Oh, Thomas! That's right." He continues down the line, and Alex freezes when he says his name. He makes fun of the length of Lafayette's name, to which the Frenchman responds with snapping words that could have gotten him killed if Lee was able to understand him.

Then, Lee points at the ceiling. "That other girl up there? I know her name is Maria. Reynolds has had his eye on her ever since we brought you all here, he wouldn't shut up about the things he wanted to do."

Alex pales at the thought. Lee notices, and his grin grows wider. Leaning down, he whispers, "Oh, yeah, he's thought up some pretty nasty shit, if you ask me. I'll bet if I took you upstairs right now, you'd be able to hear her getting pounded into a mattress, moaning like a little whore."

Rage clouds his eyes, reacting quickly to the insult that he's heard and despised all of his life. "Don't fucking talk about her like that," Alex snarls, completely forgetting who's mercy he's at.

Alex feels the eyes of his friends turn to him. "Alex, _shut up_ ," John snaps.

Lee only laughs. "Does it bother you, thinking of her like that?" he asks. Dragging a finger up Alex's throat, he can feel the wet blood left over from the gloves as Lee tilts his head up to look directly into his eyes. "Or are you jealous?"

In a stupid spur of the moment, Alexander spits on him.

Lee whirls back as if he's been struck, looking stunned, and Alex counts that as a victory. The proud feeling fades fast as he sees his friends, even Jefferson, looking at him in terror as Lee recovers quickly and stalks forward again, grabbing Alex's chin in a tight grip. The scalpel is in sight again, ready and pointing to aim directly into his throat if Lee moves it any more than an inch.

The rooms are in silence as they wait for something to happen. Lee looks pissed, looking ready to spill more blood down his hands, but takes a deep breath and calms himself down.

"I ought to take you upstairs," he murmurs, his grip suddenly going soft as he strokes his chin with his thumb. "Teach you how to respect your superiors."

And because Alexander is disgusted, has no brain-to-mouth filter, no self-control, and has raised himself to be a natural fighter, he foolishly snaps without a second thought, "I'd like to see you fucking try."

That brings Lee's grin back, and he looks like a wild Cheshire Cat. He actually looks to be considering it, and Alex doesn't dare to drag his eyes away. Lee's quiet for just another second, then says, "Sorry buddy, but I'm not like that. Maybe I'll have a turn with Maria, though, if Reynolds will let me."

Alex kicks out a foot, hoping to get him in the stomach, but Lee steps back in time. He looks back at the table, then mutters to himself, "I might as well wait to continue until they're done. It'll be a lot more fun when all three of us are working." Then, straightening his back, he says, "Shit, we forgot to get the other picture!" He quickly turns off the light and takes off up the stairs, not even bothering to put the scalpel back on the table.

Once the door closes, Alex hears the gruff voice of Hercules from the other room, "Alex, you okay?"

Alex doesn't feel okay, but he sighs and nods, even though he can't see him. "Yeah, I'm good," he says.

"Good," Hercules responds. Then, he continues in an irritated tone, "Don't ever fucking do something like that again."

A hush falls over them all as they take in the scene they were forced to endure. Jefferson is the first to break the silence, snapping at Alex, "You idiot. Do you always have to get yourself in trouble?" 

Alexander meets his glare, still burning from the anger he felt from Lee's taunts. "Did you just expect me to let him insult Maria like that?" he hisses back.

"When he has a fucking blade against your throat, then yes," Jefferson retorts. "Christ, Hamilton, you don't need to be constantly fighting."

" _You're_ one to talk--" Alexander is about to snap in response, but is cut off.

"He's right," John interrupts before either of them can say anything else. Alex turns to his friend in surprise, about to ask why he's siding with Jefferson, but stays silent as he sees his horror-struck expression. "Alex, he had that knife pointed to your throat, and the way he was looking at you, I... I thought he was gonna kill you."

"And I think we all would rather not see anymore bloodshed," Lafayette adds, staring at the now deep red concrete.

The room is mostly quiet, save for Burr's occasional sniffle and Eliza softly asking James if he's okay. James looks embarrassed now, giving a curt nod and resting his face on his knees weakly. The room smells awful, like stale vomit and iron, and Alex almost wishes that one of the three captors were back down here, if only to sterilize the room. He expects Reynolds, or at least Lee, to come back down soon.

Alex decides to do what James is doing, and brings his knees up to hide his face. He blocks out what he can, the smell, the noise, and the reality of what's happening to them.

He keeps his eyes shut and imagines he's back at his house, sitting at his desk with his computer, typing up a new essay. He plans it in his head, just a random essay about World War II, then imagines the document in front of his vision and begins forming the words in his mind. He's getting into a part about America's military strategy when the essay disappears, rudely interrupted by Jefferson saying, "I think it's been longer than thirty minutes at this point."

Alexander wants to snap at him for speaking up, but he feels his heart speed up at the mention of their names. "Oh, god, poor Maria and Theo," he whispers, thinking of all the different things that could be happening to them, and feeling nauseous all over again.

"Maria is a strong woman," Washington says suddenly. "Theodosia is as well. Right now, we have to believe they'll be okay."

"Unless Reynolds and Lee come down and dump their bodies in front of us," Alex can't help snapping. He regrets his words when he sees Eliza wince, then remembers that Burr can probably hear him from the other room. 

Washington sighs, choosing not to reprimand him. "Son, from what Reynolds said earlier, it doesn't sound like he wants Maria dead," he reminds him. He doesn't bring up the vague explanation to what would come of Theodosia, and Alex chooses not to debate about what could be happening to her.

He doesn't think that George or Sam would kill her, but he doesn't want to make any assumptions. George seems fucking crazy, but there's something _different_ about Sam that Alex can't put his finger on. He just doesn't look like a killer. Alex knows it's not a good idea to make that conclusion, but something tells him that Theodosia at least won't die at his hands.

 _The wound wasn't that deep_ , he tries to reason with himself. _If they just give her medicine..._ He shakes his head, not wanting to hope.

The minutes tick by slowly. The essay in his mind isn't enough to distract him anymore, and he begins counting the seconds that go by without any sight of Maria or Theodosia. His headache only gets worse.

He loses track of the time in his head, but by the time the light begins to fade in the window, the door to the basement opens again. Alex's head snaps up at the sound, and he hears the breath of his friends catch in anticipation. They wait in the darkness as the footsteps descend down the stairs. Alex's eyes have adjusted to the dark, so he can make out the figure of Reynolds carrying something in his arms. Alex quickly recognizes Maria, now wearing some kind of dress, laying unconscious. Alex feels his heart stop in fear, expecting him to announce her death, but he only walks back over to the spot Maria had occupied earlier. He hears the clinking of the chains as they're secured against her wrists again, then the noise of disgust as Reynolds takes in the state of the room.

"Guess I'll have to tell Lee to come down and clean up here," Reynolds finally speaks with a shake of his head.

"What did you do to Maria?" Eliza demands, nudging her friend in an attempt to wake her up. Maria doesn't respond, and if Alex couldn't have been able to see the steady rising and falling of her shoulders, he would have assumed she was dead.

Reynolds grins. "A few things here and there," he says. "She's such a doll, I thought I'd dress her up like one. Wanna see it? I doubt you can see what it looks like in this darkness." He walks over to the middle of the room, stepping around the pool of blood and pulling the string to the light.

Everyone's already looking at Maria, and Alex hears a collective gasp rise up from his friends.

She's been put into a bright red dress, one that Alexander thinks would have looked beautiful on her if not for the current situation. Her head is tilted up against the wall, and Alex can see tracks of mascara from when she must have been crying trailing down her face. She doesn't look as beat up as he had thought she would be, only a small bruise on her jaw, although he fears for when she'll wake up. He wants to be able to hug her and tell her it'll be okay, but those words would mean nothing, even if he was somehow freed from his chains.

"I visited your other friend before I came down here," Reynolds interrupts Alexander's observing. "She looks pretty messed up. Lee's got some kind of weird fetish for huge wounds, y'know."

"What have you guys done to her?" Aaron snaps, and while Alexander isn't able to see him, his anger is obvious in his voice.

Reynolds holds up his hands in a surrendering gesture, walking over to the doorway to stand in between the rooms. "Don't worry about her," he tells him. "She's in good hands, I promise."

"Why should we listen to you?" Lafayette asks, glaring at him.

He shrugs, turning back to look at Lafayette. "You don't have to," he says. "She'll be fine, though. George is pretty good with medical stuff, and Sam's picked up a few things on the way, so I don't think there's any cause for alarm."

 _There's a lot of fucking things to be alarmed about_ , Alex wants to snap at him, and is about to open his mouth to do so, but stops when he sees the glare Jefferson and John shoot his way. He looks between them both, wanting to ask when they started agreeing on anything, but decides that now isn't the time with Reynolds still in the basement with them.

"Well, I'll go get Lee to clean this mess up," Reynolds says, his voice too positive. Clapping his hands together, he says, "Tell Maria I said goodbye when she wakes up."

"Fuck you," Alex spits out, not managing to control himself.

Reynolds responds by flipping him off as he walks back up the steps.

"Do you guys think we can trust what he's saying?" Angelica asks after a moment of silence.

"What point is there for him to lie?" Hercules responds first. "You'd think he'd get a laugh out of seeing our misery if he told us she was dead."

"Still, I don't want to believe what he's saying unless he gives us proof," John reasons. "Do you think they'll bring her back down here?"

Nobody says anything, but Alex speaks up, "They probably will. Theodosia's been severely wounded, but that wouldn't stop her from breaking the hell out of here if she wasn't chained up."

There's a murmur of agreement around the room. "I just want to see her," Aaron says, sighing. "I have to make sure she's okay."

A tense silence, one that screams how nobody is okay, not any longer, but nobody acknowledges it. Alex tries to ignore it as Lee comes back downstairs, carrying a bucket and mop, and begins to clean up the mess. He hides his head behind his legs again, doing his best to ignore Lee's taunts and only getting close to losing his temper once. That happens because Lee laughs at Maria's condition and says something demeaning to her, and Alexander is ready to throw his own calculated insults back to him. As soon as his eyes narrow, however, he feels a kick to his ankle, and he whips his head to turn his angry glare to Jefferson. Jefferson only glares back, and eventually Alex breaks their gaze with a huff.

Lee finishes with one last sweep over the area around James, sneering at him for not being able to hold in his meal, and Maria surprises them all by swiping out a leg and catching Lee off balance. He gives a shocked squeak, and Alexander startles in surprise at her angry glare, not knowing when she could have woken up.

"You little whore," Lee spats as he stands up again, stomping over and grabbing her throat in a rough grip. "I could just kill you right now, you know that, right?"

"Better than being in this hellhole," Maria says, her voice surprisingly smooth.

Lee fumes for a second, his hand tightening and causing her face to become purple in color. He lets go before it becomes too much for her, and she starts coughing as the air fills her lungs again.

"No," Lee says. He grabs the things he came downstairs with, then turns away. "I won't kill you, at least not yet." He turns off the light, then heads back to the staircase. 

"And why's that?" Maria asks. "Did you forget what you all planned to do to us?"

Alex looks, shocked, between Maria and Lee. Lee doesn't look bothered at all by her outburst anymore, but Maria's eyes hold the deep fire she hides in her heart that Alexander's admired for so long. Right now, though, he's beginning to think that the worry in his chest is what his friends were feeling earlier for him, because he wants nothing more than to leap across the room and clap a hand over her mouth to get her to shut up. He finds that his speech has left him in his surprised state, and he can only watch as Lee continues up the steps.

He doesn't think that Lee will respond to her jab, but he says as he walks, "No. It's because killing you all would be too easy." Then, on the last step, "It's a far more evil thing for us to allow you to live." With that, he disappears from their view, closing the door.

Alexander is grateful that the room is at least cleaner now, but Lee's words still send a chill up his spine. He can hear Maria sigh, letting down her guard now that Lee has left.

"Maria, what the hell was that all about?" Eliza asks.

Maria shakes her head slowly. "Reynolds was awful," she responds, her voice suddenly quiet and scared. "He... Eliza, he..." She doesn't get any farther than that, continuing to shake her head. She manages to compose herself, then continues, "I took out my anger in a bad way, and I know I shouldn't have done that, but Lee was just so horrible, and I... I couldn't let him get away with saying shit like that."

"At least _she_ can admit it," Jefferson says with a pointed glare in Alexander's direction.

If Maria heard him, she doesn't ask him what he means. "I heard someone screaming from upstairs," she says. "Fucking Reynolds, he started laughing when he heard and just told me that I should feel lucky that wasn't me."

"It was Theodosia," Eliza says solemnly.

Maria asks what happened, and Washington goes into the details of it when nobody else does. Alex hears Burr begin to sniffle again, and Washington apologizing briefly to him. Burr doesn't respond.

The hours go by in silence. A few stomachs rumble from hunger, and Alex is grateful for once that he can go long amounts of time without eating and still managing to feel fine. This time is different, though, as he doesn't have a computer, keyboard, or so much as a pen to distract him. He tries the essay in his mind again, but that isn't enough.

Maria doesn't say much about what Reynolds did to her. Alex doesn't blame her, and doesn't put pressure on her to talk about it. He wants to be over there with her to help her instead of being forced to sit next to _Jefferson_ , but he's grateful that Eliza is there for her. She's always been better with emotions anyway, and when Maria inevitably breaks down, Eliza hushes her and tells her to be brave. Maria only cries harder, and it seems like forever until her sobs become softer, and her breathing evens out.

Nobody comes to their rescue that night, not even their captors come back downstairs to torment them again. Alexander is grateful that the three are at least leaving them alone, but he can't help wondering if anyone is even searching for them yet.

He tries not to think too hard on that thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor theo
> 
> i can't remember the last time i tried writing violence so pls forgive me if this is bad


	3. Chapter 3

_the men were saved_  
_from the sinking ship_  
_right before it started to burn_

 

Nothing much happens the next three days. Lee comes downstairs at least twice each day (and he finally fixed the damn leaky pipe), both times to give them food and water, and to take them up to use the bathroom. He'll remove their shackles momentarily to put smaller cuffs on them, and it's incredibly uncomfortable, but now when they're brought back down the stairs, he'll leave their arms in front of them so they can eat.

Not surprisingly, Alexander has tried to use all of the new things to his advantage. He's tried to punch him in the few seconds he was free, but they always managed to restrain him before he could try to overpower him. He's also tried to grab out at Lee whenever he drops a bowl of cereal or pasta in front of them, but Lee seems to expect all of this, as he always steps out of the way in time. John had managed to get the bowl between his feet so he could launch it at Lee's head, and once Lee was able to stand again, he threw a few hits at John's face and told him he wouldn't get any food for the next few days. Of course, since Alex is able to go long periods of time without anything to eat or drink, he'd offer John his own portions. John, being too polite, refused to eat anything unless Alex ate some, too. He never had much appetite, but he didn't want John to starve for his sake, so he'd eat a few bites to appease him and then he'd offer the rest to him.

Much to the worry of the group, James wouldn't eat at all, and even if he did, it had to be because Jefferson and Eliza coaxed him to do it. Alex had never seen Jefferson act so caring to someone, but considering James already has a few issues with his health, he figures that this wouldn't be the first time he had to be told by Jefferson to get something to eat.

They've tried different times to escape. They had noticed that where the chains were secured to the wall looked a little loose, and it had Alexander leaning forward and John would try to kick it to, but to no avail. The chains definitely appear to be old and used, but they still work just fine enough to stay hooked onto the wall. They didn't give up though, but it's needless to say that any time they tried it, it never worked.

Nobody's come to their rescue. Eliza and Angelica have tried to reassure them and keep their hopes alive, saying that there must be a search party out for them by now.

"Peggy must be worried sick about us," Angelica had told them. "She knows we went camping, so they have to be searching the woods." Alex wants to believe that, but as true as her statements may be, he also remembers what they were told on their first night there.

 _We're surrounded by hundreds of miles of woods_ , he had recalled Lee's words after Angelica spoke. He didn't say anything about that, even though that must have been the thoughts in all of their minds.

George and Reynolds don't often come to the basement, although George is the one who's down there more often. Each time, they ask about Theodosia, and each time he responds with a delighted hum and tells them that she's hanging in there. It's not necessarily the answer they want, but to know that she's alive is enough for them. Each time any of them come downstairs, though, they're usually by themselves. It's strange, and Alex is worried about what they're planning, but he knows it's out of his control.

Sam hasn't come down with them since Theodosia was hurt, and Alex feels his curiosity growing for him every time George comes downstairs without him. He's brought the topic up to his friends, and they agreed that something seems off about him. Angelica said that he could be George's boyfriend who's being forced to help them. Alexander agrees with her, having seen his fear when he saw what Lee was doing to Theodosia.

Reynolds hasn't brought Maria back upstairs since the first time he did, and Lee hasn't taken a weapon to another person's body. It's pretty uneventful, and for once, Alexander is grateful that nothing is happening around him.

Then, after four days, the door to the basement opens, and there's more than one person with Lee this time.

Since Lee decided the last time he was down here to leave the lights in the basement on, Alex can see that he's the first one walking downstairs. He announces as he makes it to the last step, "We've got your friend." That manages to catch their attention, and those who weren't bothering to listen before have snapped their eyes in their direction.

Lee hurries down the stairs and steps aside to make room for George, who is the one carrying Theodosia down the steps. Her eyes are open, and her head turns to the side so she can face her friends. He worries for a second at her blank expression, but then he notices the rising and falling of her chest. Alex breathes a sigh of relief to know that she isn't dead, although he remembers Lee's words, and suddenly isn't sure if that's a mercy or not.

Looking closer at her, Alexander can't see any fresh wounds. She's wearing a different shirt now, and luckily, it isn't soaked in blood. Her face is bruised, but Alex assumes that must have been from when Lee slapped her to the ground. She looks faint, as if she's on the verge of passing out. His heart twists sadly at the sight.

Suddenly, there's a loud noise on the ground in front of him, and Alex startles. He looks and sees that Lee's haphazardly dropped a plastic bowl of plain spaghetti noodles in front of him.

 _Do they have anything other than pasta?_ Alex thinks, glaring down at the food, then up at Lee, who currently has his eyes trained on John. With a sharp movement of his wrist, Lee throws another bowl at John, which rolls and spills the food on the dirty floor.

John looks up angrily at Lee, who only shrugs and says, "Oops."

"You're an asshole," John snaps.

"Don't complain," Lee responds as George's fancy shoes click on the floor. 

Now, Alex notices the person behind him is Sam, looking just as hesitant and nervous as he did the first time they saw him. He keeps casting glances up at them, but he doesn't say anything, only sticking to George's side as he walks Theodosia into the other room. He hears Burr take in a sharp breath when he sees her, but he doesn't start to cry. Alex thinks it's because he wants to be strong for her.

There's shifting around, followed by the familiar sound of chains being secured against the wall and shackles clasping around skin. "We'll leave you guys alone," George says with a final wave to each room. He wraps an arm around Sam's waist as they head up the stairs. Lee's already waiting for them at the top step.

Alex sees Sam turn his head slightly to look back at them, and he meets Alex's eyes for a split second. His gaze is gone before Alex can figure out the emotion in his expression, and then they leave the basement again.

"Theodosia?" Aaron asks, his voice laced with hope and terror. "Theo, baby, are you okay?"

Alex hears Theodosia take in a deep, shuddering breath, then hears her muffled, "Mhmm," in response.

A sigh of relief goes through each room, and Angelica is the first to ask, "What happened up there? We were fucking terrified."

"I was, too," Theodosia says. Her voice betrays her tiredness, sounding like she's ready to pass out. It reminds Alex of glass, as if one more touch could smash her to pieces. Still, she manages to continue talking, "I think--that guy, Sam. He was nice to me. He gave me a new shirt."

"He did?" Aaron asks. Alex can hear the confused frown in his tone.

"Yeah," she responds quietly. "He also gave me medicine and let me listen to music."

Burr doesn't say anything to that. Alex looks over at John, who wears the same perplexed look that he's feeling. "What is that guy's deal?" Eliza voices their thoughts. "He's not taking a single part in any of the bad things, he's just kind of... here."

"I'm still thinking he's George's boyfriend or something, and he had the misfortune of getting roped into this," Angelica repeats her beliefs. "He doesn't look like he wants to hurt any of us."

"We shouldn't assume anything," Alex voices his warning thoughts. He does agree with her, but he doesn't want to be disappointed if Sam ends up holding a knife over him.

"He just doesn't seem like a killer," Angelica says in response.

"I don't think he is either," Theodosia pipes up before Alex can try to tell her again that it's not a good idea to make that conclusion yet.

Alexander doesn't have a good response, so he decides to stay quiet. Theodosia doesn't speak anymore about him, but Aaron tries to keep her awake by talking to her, fearing that something bad could happen if she falls asleep.

With nothing else to occupy his thoughts, Alex begins to think more about it, and he only ends up confusing himself. _Who is he?_ Alex wonders, rolling the question around his head for awhile longer.

Alex then hears a thoughtful hum in the other room, and he turns back to Angelica's voice as he hears her ask, "And is it just me, or does he seem familiar to anyone else?" Nobody responds for a moment, so Angelica continues, "He just... I don't know, I could've sworn I've seen him before. Is it seriously just me who's thinking this?"

Alex tries to bring up any memory that he might have of his appearance, but nothing is coming to his mind. _I think I would have remembered him if I had seen him before_ , Alexander thinks, his mind going to the gruesome scar lining the side of the man's face. He eventually shakes his head after his mind continues drawing blanks, saying, "I don't think I've seen him before."

"I can't think of anything either," John says.

"I've got nothing," Jefferson mutters, though he still appears to be trying to remember any time he might have seen him.

"Where would you have seen him?" Maria asks, tilting her head. 

Angelica shrugs. "I don't know," she repeats, "maybe at the store, or the coffee shop? It just... I feel like I've seen him at some point."

"If he's George's boyfriend, he might make trips to the store for them," Alex suggests. Angelica is silent for a moment, then gives an noncommittal murmur in response. 

Not wanting to think too much harder on it, he turns to John and asks, "Wanna see if we loosened these damn chains any further yet?"

John nods with a small smile, waiting for Alex to shuffle forward and pull the chains back tightly. Jefferson sighs and says, "Jesus, would you two quit it with that? There's no fucking way you can escape doing that."

"Doesn't hurt to keep trying," John says cheekily, moving further away to make room for his legs. He kicks out quickly, his feet clashing with the linking metal. It only makes a loud noise, but it doesn't sound like it's breaking off the wall. John makes a quiet sound of pain, but muffles it by biting the inside of his mouth.

"It isn't going to work, for the love of--" Jefferson starts, then yelps as John kicks out again, his foot slipping over the metal and connecting with his arm. "What the fuck, that fucking hurt!"

"Sorry," John says with a grin as Alexander snickers. With a pointed glare from Washington, however, John rolls his eyes and goes back to trying to kick against the chains, now avoiding kicking Jefferson. Still, no luck, and John gives up as soon as he can't take it anymore.

"You're going to end up breaking your foot, _mon ami_ ," Lafayette says, shaking his head as John winces when he stretches it out.

"And my fucking arm, goddamn," Jefferson grumbles, rolling his shoulders.

John sighs. "We don't just want to sit here and do nothing," he tells them. "If only these chains would fucking _loosen_ \--"

"What would you even do if they did break off?" Eliza asks sadly. "It's not like either of you can just run out of here, and I'm pretty sure it would just cause trouble if by some miracle you somehow did."

Alex shrugs, slumping back against the wall without giving a verbal response. He feels hungry, but he doesn't reach for the bowl of food in front of him. Instead, he tries to go back to the essay in his mind, and using that as a distraction works for awhile, but then his mind wanders off. He begins to think about Sam again, and how Angelica said he looked familiar. 

He tries to think about any other time he might have seen him, but he can't recall anything. He doesn't know why it's bothering him so much, but he tries to ignore that feeling.

After awhile, he looks back over to John and sees him deep in thought. Alex wonders if he's trying to recall any times he might have run into Sam. His expression changes from thoughtful to annoyed, looking at the ruined food messily strewn in a small space in front of him in irritation.

"Damn Lee," John mutters.

Alexander agrees with a hum, then nudges the bowl he was given over to John. He looks between it and Alexander uneasily. "I'm not feeling too hungry right now," he lies, hoping that John won't try to argue with him over it again.

No such luck, though. "You still need to eat," John says with a raised eyebrow.

"You can have it, I'm seriously not hungry," Alex insists.

John looks like he wants to keep arguing, but he takes the bowl anyways and mutters, "I'm still going to leave you some, and you better eat it."

"Fine." The time continues to pass by, and Aaron keeps asking Theodosia questions to keep her awake. Most times he asks if she's feeling any better, and she'll respond with a shaky yes. Alex winces as he remembers the pain she had to endure and how awful she looked afterwards. He thanks any god he can think of for sparing her life.

 _But for how long?_ He knows it's a miracle that she survived, but she must still be weak. Something bad could happen as the night passes...

John suddenly shoves the bowl back in his direction, looking at him expectantly. Alex shakes his head, to which Jefferson groans and snaps, "For god's _sake_ , Hamilton, just fucking eat something so you don't starve down here."

"You'd probably love that," Alex snaps, but reluctantly grabs what he can with his hands still shackled and takes a bite of the pasta. John looks pleased that he ate, and Jefferson turns away without saying anything to try to speak to James, begging him with the help of Eliza to eat.

James looks queasily at the bowl of food left at his feet, and after Eliza nudges him gently, he shakily grabs a few noodles and eats them. He still looks like he wants to throw up, but pushes through it, obviously knowing that not eating isn't going to make him feel any better. Alex again listens uncomfortably to the coaxing from Jefferson, his words, "You can do it, Jemmy, please, you have to," sound strange coming from him.

 _I'll never get used to hearing him act nice_ , Alex decides, sliding the bowl away when what he had left of his appetite disappears. John looks disappointed at that, but doesn't say anything.

Not wanting to finish the portions that John left him, his mind goes back to wandering, and he looks back in the direction of the other room when his mind goes to Sam again. _I'm gonna drive myself mad obsessing over this_ , he thinks, shaking his head at himself. Still, he isn't one to let go of something that's bothering him. "You really think he looks familiar, Angie?" he asks, realizing too late that he didn't specify who he means.

Luckily, Angelica knows who he's talking about. "It's actually bothering me that I can't remember," she admits. "I just feel that I should _know_ him somehow."

"He might just look similar to someone you've seen before," Hercules points out.

"I know," Angelica says with a sigh. "I can't explain it, it's just a weird feeling."

Alex feels bad that he can't offer any good advice on how to help her. All he can try to do is think about any other times he's seen Sam, even though it's proving to be difficult. Angelica doesn't offer any more information on Sam, so he doesn't try to bring it up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smh @john and alex what are yall even doing  
> in other news, sammy's the interesting topic in all their minds. I WoNdER WHy?????? ? ? ? ???? ? ??
> 
>  
> 
> hooray for filler chapters !!
> 
> lmao sorry guys, i'll post another chapter on wednesday to make up for it XD
> 
> (by the way guys, i finally got a tumblr! it's [shxwtiime](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/shxwtiime), feel free to come talk to me :D !!)


	4. Chapter 4

_and while they're safe_  
_their loyal friends need help_  
_patiently waiting for their turn_

 

James had only gotten worse, and Reynolds decided that it was time to resume their activities. Once again, he hooked a collar around Maria's neck and pulled her up the steps, leaving Lee and George to do whatever they wanted to. However, Sam wasn't with them this time, so there was nothing stopping Lee as he sliced and carved through James.

They had decided that they weren't being fair, giving the show to the main room and leaving the others without any entertainment. They dragged James into the other room, and Alex listened to the clicking of George's camera and James yelling himself hoarse. The swift sounds of the knife being lifted and slicing down were loud, even as the others screamed their fear. Thomas especially, Alex had worried that he would damage his throat if he continued yelling for James as loud as he did (not that he'd ever admit it to him, though).

This torture seems to continue for hours. Once they're satisfied, Alex hears the click and sees the flash of the camera, and then he watches as they drag James out of the room and back to his chains.

Alex has to take a deep gulp of air to tamper down the vomit he feels rising in his throat as he catches sight of James.

His eyes are swollen shut, and he breathes shallowly. Crimson stains his torn shirt in trails, trickling down and hitting the concrete in a deep contrast of red. His pants are colored purple from the blood, and Alex can just barely see the deep cuts dripping from his skin. Thomas gives a cry of misery at the sight, but James is too out of it to acknowledge it. He hardly even winces at the noise.

George and Lee wave at them, wishing them good night and heading upstairs. They don't even bother trying to heal James.

"Jemmy," Thomas whispers. "Please, Jemmy, can you hear me?"

James stirs and mutters something unintelligible, then begins coughing. Alex can hear the blood still dripping on the floor.

It continues like this for awhile longer until Maria is brought back downstairs. She carries herself this time, following with a glare after Reynolds as he pulls her down the steps. She pauses in shock as she sees James, her mouth falling open at seeing the dreadful sight, but is forced to keep moving at a tug from the leash mockingly attached to the collar.

When she's secured against the wall again, Reynolds turns off the lights in each room and goes back up the stairs without another word. Jefferson demands that he help James, but there's no response as the man disappears up the steps.

Nothing else happens, the time only passing by with the victims as they keep trying to make sure that James is still awake. James hardly responds, and sometimes Eliza will have to confirm for them that he's still breathing.

Then, the door to the basement opens again. There's no light at the top to greet them, not even a flashlight, and Alex assumes that it's just Lee coming back to clean up his mess.

"Haven't you done enough?" Alex says.

"Shhh, you have to be quiet," a different voice from Lee responds. Alex freezes, somehow recognizing it without being able to see the figure.

"Sam?" Theo asks weakly, confirming that it's not just Alex imagining things.

"Yeah, it's me," Sam responds. He walks quickly over to the middle of the room, pulling the string and encasing the room in light again.

Alex's eyes are immediately drawn to the long scar on the side of his face, but he tries to look away and then sees a sense of urgency in the man's eyes. He holds a medical kit in his right grip, and Alex feels a surge of hope that he might be breaking them out, but he doesn't see any keys with him. He tries not to be upset with this, not knowing why he expected it.

"George told me what Lee did," Sam mutters, walking over to the James and kneeling in front of him. He reaches out to touch the side of his neck, then nods to himself as he finds his pulse. He then helps James pull off his shirt. At the sight of his torn up body, Alex has to turn away for a second to get his composure back.

Seeing his bare chest is a lot worse than having the shirt over him, because he can see every wound on display and the effects they've had on his body. He's covered in shining sweat that's mixed with the blood and dried over his skin. The wounds are still fairly fresh, with skin peeling off beside the cuts.

Sam doesn't look extremely bothered by the gruesome sight. He reaches for his medical kit, pulling out a small bottle of alcohol and a rag. "This might hurt a little," Sam warns, dabbing the liquid on the rag and dragging it over him. James gives a feeble whimper, to which Sam only hushes him and promises that it'll help.

"What are you doing?" Lafayette asks.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sam asks, not looking up from the wounds as he pulls out wraps of bandages. "I'm healing him."

Lafayette looks displeased, as if it wasn't the answer he expected. He mutters in French and looks at Alex, saying his question, and Alex nods in understanding and translates, "I think he meant _why_ are you doing this." Lafayette gives an eager nod to show that's what he wanted to say.

This makes Sam pause, but then he's back at work so quickly that he could have missed it if he weren't paying attention. "What does it matter?" Sam says. "I'm helping him, aren't I?"

"Why are you, though?" Eliza asks. This time, Sam looks up and meets her confused yet firm gaze. "You didn't have to, and you're treating him as if you're on a timer."

Sam appears to be wracking his brain for an answer. He decides on, "Technically, I am," as he tapes the patches over the wounds. "If these wounds get infected, he could die."

Thomas winces at this, but Eliza doesn't act like the curt answer bothers her. "No," she says, her expression unwavering. She appears to have realized something, and she pushes on, "Do any of them even know you're down here?"

The answer is obvious from his apparent secrecy when he came down here, and the question confuses both Alex and Sam, yet Sam still answers, "No, they don't."

Angelica speaks after Eliza, asking, "Would they get mad if they knew?" She sounds as if she knows where Eliza is going with her interrogations.

Sam turns to her voice with a heavily guarded expression. He responds with a suspicious voice, "They probably would," and then looks back to face Eliza. Alex looks back and forth between them as they watch each other with eyes that hold a conversation of their own, private and unknown to the others in the room. Sam's still holding a rag over a few cuts on James's shoulder, still working on trying to heal him, even with the sisters' distracting questions.

"What about George?" Eliza asks.

Sam's eyes widen at his name, but he quickly shadows his face by dropping the rag and pulling out a metal pair of scissors, a needle, and spool of thread from the medical kit. "He'd probably be mad, but I don't know," he murmurs, threading the needle and clipping it short enough for the cut he's working on. His voice doesn't sound as bitter when he says this, and the theories that Angelica came up with start to come to Alexander's mind.

Neither Eliza or Angelica ask anything as Sam works the needle into James's skin. James gives a sharp noise of pain at the feeling, but he doesn't protest. Jefferson strains slightly against the chains at the sound, yet he doesn't speak. His face is one of sad desperation, wanting to be over there to help his friend, but being restrained to the wall. Alex feels another pang of pity at the sight, and instinctively tries to bury it and lock it away, not being used to such a feeling.

It takes Sam a few minutes to finish the last thread, concentrating carefully as he removes the thread from the needle. He moves to the spool again, unraveling the string to prepare for the next deep cut.

Finally, Angelica speaks up again, "Are you George's boyfriend?"

Sam drops the spool at hearing her, then quickly scrambles to pick it up. He circles the excess thread back around the spool, using the distraction to find an answer. His hesitance is answer enough, although they still wait for him to say something. "Not exactly," Sam finally responds, not saying anything else as he cuts the string.

That seemed to be the answer they were looking for. Eliza's eyes brighten as she hears this, but they quickly fall as she asks seriously, "Sam, are you trapped here?"

Sam's hands appear to be shaking, and he clasps them together once he can't get them under control. "What do you mean?" he asks, although suddenly Alexander knows exactly what Eliza means, and he thinks that Sam knows, too. His heart begins to beat faster in anticipation of the question that either sister is preparing to ask.

"You said you aren't exactly his boyfriend," Angelica starts. "Oh, shit, I think I remember now--"

"Miss Schuyler, please--" His mention of her name is strange, but from what Lee said about going through their things at the campsite, it's not too surprising to Alexander that Sam knows their names as well.

"Sam, you were kidnapped too, weren't you?"

No response, only the soft sounds of the heavy, pained panting from James. Sam has paused again, his hands still shaking uncontrollably in his lap. He eventually drops them to his side, and Alex worries for a moment that he's not going to finish patching up James until he takes in a deep breath, steadies his hands, and goes back to working on his wounds again.

"That's it, isn't it?" Eliza says, almost to herself as each person takes in his silence.

He doesn't respond to her, and Alex uses the quietness to make a conscious effort to resist the urge to smack his head back against the wall in anger at himself for not realizing it before. _How the fuck did I not see it?_ Alex thinks, now thinking back to Sam's jittery and nervous behavior all of the times he was allowed downstairs.

 _Allowed_ , Alex realizes. _Oh, shit, this makes too much fucking sense_.

"Do I want to even ask how you knew?" Sam finally confirms quietly, finishing off the stitch with a soft clip of the scissors.

There's a shocked, quick sigh that goes around the room as he says this. Angelica is the first to break the silence, her voice holding horror and recognition. "Samuel Seabury," she says, almost to herself. Sam freezes when he hears his full name, but Angelica keeps speaking as the memory comes back to her, "That's where I've seen you before. It was on a fucking missing person flyer."

Sam turns his head in the direction of the other room in shock. "People... People are looking for me?" he asks.

"You look so much different in your picture," Angelica says. "Holy shit, how did I not see it before?"

"You sound surprised to hear that people are looking for you," John interrupts Angelica's rambling, his tone confused. "Why?"

Sam shrugs, moving onto the next wound once he remembers what he's down there for. "I've been here long enough," he says easily.

The statement is simple enough, but _shit_ , Alex swears he can feel his heart break at the tone of his voice. It sounds so heavy, carrying all of the things that he's withholding in his own mind. Alex swears he can see a million memories flicker across his expression at once, thoughts of everything that he's had to suffer through in his time here.

God, Alexander really wishes that these damn chains could just disappear, if only it meant he could make their captors go through the same pain they've thrown upon their victims.

Sam finishes the wound with the same finesse he's been using, although something's changed in his eyes. The needle in his grip apparently becomes a heavy weight, as he drops it back into his lap and inhales quickly. Again, Alex looks at the scar that disappears into his shirt, and he wonders again about the backstory behind it, but this time, the speculating thoughts add in different possibilities from the information he's been given. _Did Lee do that?_

Silence for another second, and then Sam asks, "Is anyone else seriously hurt?"

Nobody says anything for a moment, and suddenly remembering something, Alex says, nodding to the man in the opposite corner, "Washington's arm or shoulder is injured."

Sam immediately stands up and walks over to the man, kneeling by his side. Washington looks over at Alexander in surprise. "How did you--?" he begins.

"It's not that hard to tell," Alex replies with a shrug as Sam gently lifts up his arm. Washington inhales sharply at the movement, but doesn't say anything.

Sam nods to himself, saying what Alex already knew, "Dislocated." Grabbing his arm, he asks, "Can I...?" Washington nods his assent, and Sam gets a tighter grip on his arm. "Did you come here with a dislocated shoulder?"

Washington begins to nod, "I had it when I woke up--" and then grits his teeth at the feeling of the bone sliding back into the socket.

Sam sighs. "Leaving it dislocated for that much time isn't a good idea."

"Would it have made a difference if I even brought it up?" Washington asks, his voice sounding frustrated and pained as he tries to get used to the feeling of his shoulder back in place.

Sam ignores that, saying, "I'm sorry that I can't put your arm in a sling. I would've brought pain meds, but Lee... Damn it, I probably could've risked trying to--" He stops speaking as soon as the sound of loud footsteps walk above them.

Alex jumps at the noise, as do his friends, and Sam's eyes widen as he looks up and curses a soft, " _Damn it_." He clenches his fist in an angry grasp in what Alexander can only assume is frustration with himself. He looks around frantically for a moment, as if for an escape route, but it's too late.

The door to the basement creaks open, and Alex feels his heart quickening at the sound. _What's going to happen to Sam?_ he thinks in a panic. _Is he going to be punished, and be forced to stay down here with the rest of us?_ He can admit that when he first heard, he was a bit envious that Sam's allowed to stay upstairs, but at the same time, he doesn't want Sam to have risked the privileges he's earned to help heal the people that are probably going to die no matter what he does.

"Sammy?" the kind, yet arrogant accent rings through the room. "My dear boy, are you down here?"

Sam grits his teeth, an expression of horror crossing his face as well as quiet yet quick breaths wracking his body from fear. Alex wishes, again, to be free of the chains, to bring this boy with his friends to escape this wretched place of terror. He can feel himself pulling again on his shackles, even though he knows it won't make a difference.

Sam, however, doesn't miss a beat in his response. "Yes, sir," he calls back, walking back to stand beside James. His voice is shockingly smooth for someone who looks to be fearing for their life, although Alexander realizes with a pang in his chest that he's probably learned how to control his emotions.

The footsteps sound almost immediately on the steps, and George comes into view. He's wearing deep red pajamas that might have possibly looked comical at some point, but all he's reminded of now is the blood from Theodosia, James, and the hand that grabbed Alexander's chin and threatened him with terrible things.

"Sam, I woke up and saw that you were gone," George says as he approaches him. "What on earth are you doing down here?" He doesn't sound angry with him, only confused, and Alexander doesn't know what to make of the genuine surprise in his voice.

Sam suddenly goes from the quick, kind man who was ready to heal James and confidently pop Washington's shoulder back into place, to the soft-spoken boy who melts whenever he's near George. His hands twist behind his back, and he shifts around on his foot as his eyes go down to the medical kit by his feet. George looks to where he's staring, then looks back at Sam for an explanation.

"I'm sorry, my King," Sam says. "I heard about what Mr. Lee did, and I just wanted to help." He bows his head and looks at George through his eyelashes shyly, a subtle plea for him to not be angry.

"Oh, Samuel," George whispers in endearment, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. "You're such a kind boy, you know that, right? Always looking out for others." He taps Sam on the nose, and Sam smiles brightly in his affections with a small giggle that only seems to make George happier.

 _He's acting so over the top so he doesn't get punished_ , Alexander's conscious provides as he watches them. _Damn, he's smart._

Alex looks to see how John's reacting to them, and is greeted by the sight of confusion. Then, out of curiosity, his eyes go to Jefferson, and he sees a totally different reaction.

His eyes are narrowed, and he has this analytical look to him that almost never fails to drive Alexander up a wall. It only does that because he _always_ wears that look whenever he's picking apart an argument between the both of them, but now he's using it on these two in front of them. Alexander assumes he's come to the same conclusion that he has already in his head.

George leans down, picking up the medical kit. "Come on, we ought to get go some sleep," George says once he gathers everything, holding out his arm to Sam. He takes it in a careful grip, leaning into him with a content noise. Then, nodding to those still chained against the wall, George says, "Say goodnight, Sam."

"Goodnight," Sam says immediately, his eyes sweeping over the room. Alex feels a chill go up his body when their eyes meet, but his gaze breaks away almost as soon as it meets his own.

"Let's go," George says, leading Sam up the steps, not bothering to get the light. George looks back at them for a second, wearing a fierce expression as his arm noticeably tightens around Sam's hand possessively. Sam doesn't exactly acknowledge it, but he tenses at the sudden pressure.

Alex thinks he can see him look at them one last time as the door closes, but they're gone before he can be sure. They listen to the footsteps above them, and Washington asks once they're a safe distance away, "James, how are you feeling?"

James groans in response, but manages a quick, "Better, I guess." He sighs deeply before adding, "I never even thanked him."

"I'm sure he knows you're grateful," Eliza assures him.

"What about you, sir?" John asks, directed at Washington.

Washington shrugs his other shoulder. "Feels... better, I guess," he says. "He was right, though. I probably shouldn't have left it alone for so long."

 _It really wouldn't have made a difference to them, though_ , Alexander thinks, but decides not to voice his own thought.

"Poor Samuel," Lafayette muses. "He is just as stuck as we are."

Jefferson suddenly makes a noise of realization. "Stockholm syndrome," he says.

They quiet down, eyes turning to Jefferson in confusion. Alex gives him a weird look, asking, "What?"

"Didn't you see how Sam was acting?" Jefferson asks, turning to him. "He looked over the moon for that man."

 _Is he fucking serious?_ "Have you lost your damn mind already?" Alex asks with a disbelieving snort. "He was only doing that so he wouldn't get in trouble."

Jefferson raises an eyebrow. "Your lack of observation is almost astounding," he sneers, and the implication of the word _almost_ sends an angry spark through Alex's veins. "If you had been closely watching them, you would have noticed how they were looking and talking with each other."

"If _you_ had been closely watching _Sam_ , you would have been able to see how terrified he was."

"Sure, he's probably nervous, but didn't you notice how they were talking to each other? George treats him like a doll, and he was _beaming_ under the attention."

Alex thinks back on it for a second. He knows that he's scared, that's only a natural reaction, but trying to focus more on how they were acting with each other... He growls in irritation, knowing what Jefferson is talking about, but not willing to admit it, especially when he's sees Jefferson's stupid smug smirk. "So maybe he acted a little taken with him. So what? It's not that hard to fake an emotion, especially when your life fucking depends on it."

Jefferson rolls his eyes. "Did you seriously pay so little attention to them? How they were acting and looking at each other--that was real emotion, and that isn't something you can just _fake_."

"How would _you_ \--" Alexander starts, but is cut off by Washington clearing his throat.

"Now isn't a good time to argue," he tells them. "This is good information we've been given, though." Everyone's attention is on Washington now, and as he notices this, he goes on, "Sam's allowed to walk around, right? From what we saw tonight, he's apparently not closely monitored."

Alex feels his heart skip, the argument with Thomas now forgotten as he quickly realizes where he's going with this. "You think--?" he begins.

Washington nods, saying, "He might be able to get us out of here."

Everyone absorbs this information in silence, although the air is suddenly filled with a crackle of hope. "You think he'd be willing to help us?" Aaron asks, clearly not wanting to get excited yet.

"If he's trapped, he must want to leave," Alexander insists. "He helped James, maybe--"

"Christ, were none of you listening to me?" Jefferson says in exasperation. "I doubt he wants to leave this place anymore, he seems to have everything he wants here."

Alex feels a flare of annoyance rise up in him, but Washington interrupts before he can speak, "Maybe, but it's the only shot we have, and we need to do everything we can to convince him to get us out of here."

"Even if he _does_ want to leave, it doesn't mean he has access to the keys that'll unchain us," Jefferson says, tugging on his shackles to add to his point, "and if by some miracle he gets them, what then? You heard Lee, we're surrounded by miles of woods. We'd get lost easily, and that's saying if we don't already get killed by the wild animals."

"Do you have to be so goddamn pessimistic?" Alexander hisses.

Jefferson gives him a mocking grin that turns into a scowl in response. "I'm just saying we shouldn't get our hopes up," he says with a shrug.

"We'd just have to find an established trail or road," John says thoughtfully, tapping the ground in a rhythm while staring at nothing in particular as he thinks. Jefferson opens his mouth to respond, but John seems to expect this as he continues, "Jefferson, don't say anything negative. You're not helping."

Jefferson does the best he can to hold up his hands in defeat with his arms still shackled together, then slumps against the wall and says, "Fine. No more words from me this evening."

"Thank god," Alex says with over-exaggerated relief, earning a glare from him.

"This is a good plan," Lafayette says, "but how are we going to bring it up to Sam?"

"Whenever he comes back down here by himself, I suppose," Washington answers.

Alex feels an excited pulse in his heart, elated at the plan they've come up with. He just doesn't know when the next time Sam will come downstairs by himself, and the thought itself makes him nervous to think about, but he pushes that feeling away and tries to focus on the good that can come out of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sammy is an actual bean protect him
> 
>  
> 
> i updated this a little later in the day than i originally thought i would !! i had planned to upload it after school, but then i had to go to my dad's and trying to get this chapter uploaded from my phone wasn't easy, so i decided to wait until i got to a computer to post it XD
> 
> so now i'm procrastinating my english hw by updating
> 
> i hope you enjoy it !!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !! warning for more violence and a death in this chapter !! (there's gonna be a lot of that ahead of now so i'm not always gonna put a warning in order to avoid spoiling it every time, so please be cautious !!)

_thirteen horses swimming in the sea_  
_they don't even know it's pointless_  
_their pride remains_  
_but this time it won't help_  
_they used to be so tall_  
_and suddenly they're small_

 

The next time all three of their captors go downstairs together comes quicker than Alexander had expected. In fact, it's only about a day later from when Sam had been down there when they hear the heavy footsteps descend the steps, and they appear one right after the other. Sam is with them as well, glued to George's side. Alex has been thinking about what Jefferson said about Sam actually having feelings for his captor, but he doesn't want to admit that he could be right, so he does his best to ignore George when he pets Sam's hair in an almost loving gesture, and Sam when he leans into the touch with a content hum.

A few minutes pass by, the three talk among themselves, and then Lee goes into the other room. Alex hears Burr begin to yell out his terrified protests, and as he does this, Lee comes out a second later with Theodosia.

She doesn't even try to struggle anymore. His hand holds a tight grip in her hair, and he knocks her to the ground. She makes a soft noise of pain, but it isn't as strong as it would have been if she had any strength left.

Alex is frozen in horror, seeing this poor woman already a paling mess on the floor, barely breathing. The only sight that gives away that she's even alive is the faint shivering of her body.

"Well, should we at least play around first?" Lee asks, twirling his scalpel between his fingers. He looks at Theodosia with a wild gleam of excitement, and even though it isn't Alexander's who up there, he hasn't been so fearful in his life.

He understands what Lee means in his question. In his previous times of thinking to himself, he's thought about what could come of them and had figured that this would happen sometime, that this would be the eventual fate of them all, but he never wanted to believe it. The reality of their situation is suddenly too strong, and Alexander is dizzy under the pressure of it.

"George, you wanna go first?" Lee offers, holding out the end of the weapon to the man.

George looks at it with a tempted gleam in his eyes, although when Sam tightens his arms around him, he sighs and shakes his head. "Maybe another time," he says. "Reynolds can take my place."

Lee turns to the man as George gives his permission, and Reynolds quickly swipes the scalpel out of his hands with a grin. He walks over to Theodosia when he's ready, sitting back on his heels and grabbing her shirt. He doesn't bother cutting her shirt-- _Sam's shirt_ , he remembers--open along with her skin as Lee did, instead, he holds the fabric up and tears it separately. Once he's cut it into two parts, he gently pulls them apart and exposes her body and the heavy wounds that cover it.

She doesn't look any better than James, and it's clear their captors didn't give either one mercy. Alexander is surprised that they both survived through their torture.

 _Not that that's going to matter anymore_ , Alexander's mind supplies, and as much as he tries to push the thought away, he can't ignore it.

Sam suddenly looks irritated rather than terrified for a moment, and at George's questioning eyes, he mutters, "I really liked that shirt."

Lee and Reynolds let out barking laughs that make Sam wince, going back to his quiet state. "Why the fuck did you give it to her, then?" Reynolds asks, lightly dragging the small blade over her skin. He doesn't seem to expect an answer, and Sam doesn't give him one, still standing by George's side and watching Reynolds as he begins.

Reynolds doesn't bother going around her current wounds, his first slice being through the scarring tissue as he goes across the large cut that was first given to her. A loud scream erupts from her, red already flowing from the cut. They yell out for her at the sounds of her pain, and Alex can hear Burr above them, shouting and crying pleas for them to stop.

Acting oblivious to the others around them, Reynolds lifts the weapon and in quick succession, slices a number of smaller cuts down the left side of her body. He roughly drags the scalpel across a small space between a few of them above her rib cage, peeling away the skin. Alex sees the pink flesh for just a second before blood wells up in the cut, completely covering it and trailing down her body. She lets out a shriek of agony, but Alex can tell how much weaker she's getting. If Reynolds continues like this, she isn't going to survive.

With horror clouding his mind, he knows that's exactly what he intends.

"Someone wanna grab me a bucket?" Reynolds asks with a wave of his palm. "I'd rather not stain the floors any further."

Lee offers to get one, going into the other room to search for it.

"Please," Burr pleads as he sees him. "I don't care if you want to hurt me, but please, don't hurt her anymore."

Alex feels his gut twist in disgust as Lee responds, a smile clear in his voice, "You won't have to worry anymore soon, just... Gotta find..." He trails off as he pulls objects aside, then gives a satisfied hum when he finds what he wants. "Alright, I got it." He walks back out of the room, carrying a large black bucket. He swings it back and forth as he walks up to Reynolds, setting it at the back of Theodosia's head. They both lift her head up, stretching her out so her neck is above the bucket.

Alex feels his heart drop into his stomach. He knows what's going to happen.

Evidently, Sam does as well. He looks up at George with a pleading look, saying frantically, "My King, I don't want to be down here."

Reynolds pauses as he hears this, as does Lee. Reynolds still easily keeps Theo held down, as she appears to barely be aware of her surroundings anymore. Lee turns to watch their exchange, but Reynolds stays still, weapon still clenched in his grip.

"Sam--" George begins, hesitance clear in his tone.

"My King, _please_ ," Sam begs. He looks over to Theodosia with a pained expression, then back to George.

George takes a deep breath, but before he can so much as open his mouth to respond to this, Reynolds suddenly whips around and points the bloody scalpel in their direction. "Don't you _dare_ ," he snarls.

George blinks, clearly shocked at his audacity, then raises an eyebrow. Irritation sparks across his vision for a moment, but before he can say anything to that, Lee sneers, "Are you gonna let your little plaything walk all over you, _King_?"

Alex looks between the two as their glares lock together, passing unspoken words with just their expressions. Then, watching Sam, he sees his eyes wide with fear and hope as he looks up at George. As worried as Alex is about what's going to happen to Theodosia, he also feels bad for Sam. Alex doesn't want to be down here either, and even though Sam isn't shackled as the rest of them, he's still in his own type of chains as he's forced to obey the orders of their captors.

After a few short seconds, George breaks away from Lee's challenging gaze. Snaking an arm around Sam's waist and pulling him closer, he mutters, "Not yet, Sammy."

Reynolds looks pleased with his response, and he turns back to Theodosia. Sam looks away as he begins to speak in a formal tone, "Well, Mrs. Burr, it's been a pleasure to have you around. I have to admit, I'm surprised you stayed alive for so long." Theodosia, suddenly aware of what's about to happen, gets a burst of strength as she thrashes frantically in his grasp, crying out for help. With Lee by his side, they keep her held down easily. Reynolds gets a hand under Theodosia's chin, pushing her head back to expose her throat. She lets out a choked gasp, helpless under his grip. Lifting the weapon, he says with a voice that doesn't seem too affected, "Goodbye," and then brings it down in a quick slash.

Alex wishes his body would fucking _move_ , that he could break the chains and run over to stop this, even though he knows it's too late now. He thinks he hears somebody screaming, but he can't tell who it's coming from as he watches the murder take place only a few feet away from him. A spurt of crimson sprays the air, almost like a morbid fountain. Immediately, blood pulses heavily from the deep gash he created. Theodosia makes a deep, harsh gurgling noise in the back of her throat, bleeding out fast. To make it worse, she begins coughing, which causes large beads of red to escape her lungs and drip down her chin.

Her convulsions of pain settle down quickly as she loses more blood, having already been weakened before from the torture. Alex hears her blood pour in heavy amounts into the black bucket below her throat. The noise makes him nauseous, but he also doesn't know if he would have been able to handle seeing all the crimson leaving her body pool on the cement underneath her.

Then, with a few last twitches of her arm, she goes limp.

The air is tense and silent as Reynolds stands up. He seems oblivious to the change in the room as he walks over to the table, grabbing one of the towels and wiping off his hands.

"No..." Eliza says, her voice trailing off in her shock.

" _Mon Dieu_ ," Lafayette whispers in horror. 

"You killed her," Alex says, barely registering this information even as he speaks it. "You fucking _killed_ her." His mind begins to cloud over, and he feels himself shaking, but he can't stop it. He can't do _anything_. The headache that had so wonderfully smoothed over into a dull pain is now back in full force, and he has to snap his mouth tightly shut in order to keep from crying out.

"You bastards," Thomas growls. Alex is too horror-struck to react as he probably would have instinctively to the insult, his gaze stubbornly fixed on the dead body that lies only a few feet away from him. He wants to look away, he can't stand the sight of this poor, innocent woman continuing to bleed out in front of him, but he can't tear his eyes from her and it's _maddening_.

Reynolds and Lee say nothing, but as Alex finally finds himself able to bring his gaze away from her corpse, he sees that Sam is crying in George's chest, not making a noise. His eyes are sharp, a hint of bitter anger in them as the tears slide down his cheeks. Alex knows by now that it's safe to assume that Sam has a good heart, but he's still surprised to see him so emotional over a girl that he hardly knows.

 _But nobody can truly get used to such violence_ , Alex thinks.

" _Theodosia!_ " Aaron's scream rings loudly from the other room, echoing in pained waves off the walls. Alex wants to scream too, but he finds his throat constricting and can barely make even a choked off noise. He's glad that he can't see Aaron right now, knowing that he's falling to pieces at the loss of his wife, and Alex isn't sure he could handle seeing him as he breaks down. He hopes that Angelica is at least near him, knowing that she'd be there for him as Eliza was for Maria, even though Alex knows that she isn't Burr's best friend.

At least Aaron isn't in the same room as he is. The sight of the woman that he loves, her eyes still glazed over with the agony she died suffering through, would be too much for him.

"Why?" Washington asks, his voice barely above a whisper. "How could you do this?"

Lee shares a look with Reynolds as he picks up a spray bottle, cleaning off the excess blood from the blade. Lee shrugs. "Why do humans do anything?" he responds.

Washington's eyes darken. "You're all cowards," he spits, his voice filled with an unnatural rage that Alexander has never heard from the man before. Alex sees Sam flinch at the insult, and Lee's back straighten in anger. Reynolds places a hand on Lee's shoulder to stop him from raging at the man as he clearly wants to, and to Alex's surprise, Washington looks to be out for a fight. His eyes still look pained, whether that be from any pain left in his shoulder, his emotions, or both.

Reynolds only hums. "Say whatever you want, I guess," he waves off their words easily. "Lee, you wanna help me clean up in here?" Lee nods, walking over to Theodosia and lifting her head from the bucket. Reynolds steps beside him, wrapping a towel around her throat and hiding the gash.

"Oh, Sam, it's okay," George soothes as Sam's tears and shaking only gets worse. "Do you wanna go upstairs now?" He swipes his thumb over the wet tracks on Sam's face and whips his head to face Lee and Reynolds, daring them to say anything. The kind gesture that completely ignores what just happened makes it feel like a stone has dropped in Alexander's stomach.

The other two don't say anything this time, and Sam's shaking is so severe that Alex almost misses his responding nod and quiet, "Mhmm."

George smiles down at him. Pulling him with him up the steps, he says as they walk, "I'll run us a bath. Would you like that, love?" Sam hums in response and falls against George's shoulder, allowing himself to be led away.

The two other captors watch them leave, and they give exasperated sighs when they're out of hearing range. "What a brat," Lee mutters, lifting Theodosia's body.

"What are you going to do with her?" John demands.

"Well, we aren't going to leave her in the house," Reynolds says as he grabs the bucket, following Lee as he carries Theodosia's body up the stairs. The sloshing sounds of the deep red liquid makes bile rise in his throat, but Alex refuses to show the fear he feels by giving in.

 _Will they even bother with a burial?_ Alex wonders, then angrily shakes the thought out of his head immediately. _They don't give a shit about us. They'll probably throw her body out to be eaten by animals._ The reality of it makes him feel even worse, but he forces the sickening feeling down with a horrified gulp.

He watches, silent, as Lee walks easily up the stairs. "See you all later," Lee calls to them, kicking the door open further to fit through with the heavy weight in his arms. Reynolds turns off the light, then follows after him with the bucket. The light from outside is still bright enough that Alex can see a small line of red droplets trailing their steps as Theodosia's blood soaks through the towel.

The door closes with a loud noise as they leave, but the rooms are, for the most part, extremely quiet. Alex knows that Aaron is crying, he can hear the faint sniffling of his misery. He doesn't know what to do or what to say to him, knowing that he can't help him in this time of grief. He wants to tell him that he knows how it feels to lose a loved one, thinking of his mother, but it won't make him feel better.

"So this is how our lives will end, then," Lafayette says quietly, his voice still tinged with shock. "At the hands of these people."

"No," Eliza protests with a weak voice, "Sam might still decide to help us." She stops there, her voice breaking off into a coughing fit.

Alexander feels a spike of worry at the sound. _Shit, is she getting sick too?_ he wonders frantically as he listens to her trying to get herself under control again. _No, damn it--_

"I'm so sorry, Eliza," James whispers as he begins to cough as well.

"Don't--don't be," she manages, clearing her throat and holding her breath until she's sure that she won't make another sound. "I'll be fine, I'm fine."

"Eliza, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Angelica asks, concern in her voice as she listens to her.

Clearing her throat again, Eliza responds, "Yeah, I'm good." The strain in her words doesn't reassure him, but she keeps talking past her coughing, "We still have to hope that Sam'll help us, we can't give up hope." Her voice ends in a high pitched tone as she resumes her coughing. She stops trying to speak again.

"You are right, I guess," Lafayette sighs. "I hope he will come down soon, for I don't know how long we'll last."

"I seriously don't think he'll want to leave--" Thomas starts, to which Alexander lets out a groan of frustration.

"Could you just stop acting so fucking hopeless for once?" Alexander snaps at him. "If there's a chance that we can escape, we have to hold onto that."

Thomas meets his gaze with a glare. "It's not that I'm being _hopeless_ ," he says with irritation, "I'm being _realistic_. Besides, it's a lot easier to not hope so deeply for something that probably won't even happen."

"So that's it, then?" Alex asks. "You're just gonna roll over and accept this?"

"Better to accept it than get disappointed when we aren't freed."

"Would you two shut up?" John hisses at them. They pause, hearing Aaron openly cry in the other room as well as James and Eliza occasionally coughing. Guilt presses into his chest like a pincushion, and he huffs and turns away so he doesn't have to be facing Jefferson.

Minutes pass by, and the light that streams through the small window begins to dim. Alex tries to focus on the brightness of it as it slowly fades away and leaves them in complete darkness, but is forced out of his thoughts when he hears the door to the basement open again.

He hears the sharp breathing as the person descends, and he knows who it is before they even announce anything. Nobody else would cry for them.

Sam holds a flashlight, and from the light that reflects of his face, Alex can see that he's been taking the death of Theodosia harder than he imagined he would.

Tears run down his face, and he doesn't stray away from the stairs. He sits on the bottom step, setting the flashlight down beside him to face the wall, not pointing to face the room. Alex can see the subtle jerks of Sam's shoulders as the man says softly, "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them." He lifts his hand and wipes at his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, Sam," Eliza speaks up with a heavy voice. "You can't control them."

A few of them murmur their agreement. Sam sniffles for a moment longer, then carries on in a gathered tone, "I'm sorry, I hope I'm not bothering you all. I know she was your friend, it's just that... It's been so long since I've had people to talk to."

Alex smiles sadly at this. "You aren't bothering us," he assures him. Then, not able to withhold his curiosity, "Why are you risking it, though? Won't they get mad at you for being down here?"

"My King wasn't that mad last time," Sam says, resting his elbows over his knees. Alex cringes at the use of the nickname, but doesn't get the chance to tell him to refrain from using it as he continues, "He just told me that it would be best if I stayed out of the basement for a little while longer. He's sleeping right now though, so I thought I'd come down here for a few minutes."

A pulse of worry throbs in Alex's chest, but Jefferson beats him to a response, "Isn't being down here gonna make him mad, then?"

Sam shrugs, and from the light reflecting off his face, Alex swears he can see the ghost of a smile. "He didn't _directly_ tell me to stay out of the basement," he says, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Besides, he knows I'm not always the best at following orders."

There's a moment of silence, and then Eliza clears her throat and begins what about what everyone is thinking, but no one is brave enough to bring up, "Sam, there's something we gotta talk to you about."

Sam looks over to Eliza. "Yeah?" he asks. He moves to place his palms on either side of himself, as if preparing to quickly stand up, "Is anyone else severely hurt? I can go grab the medical kit, I'll heal whoever I--" He grabs onto the flashlight and casts it over to Eliza, making sure not to shine the light directly in her eyes. However, he seems to realize that his theory isn't correct, and waits again for Eliza to speak.

"How long have you been here?" Eliza asks.

Sam pauses, tilting his head in confusion at the question. Still, he hums thoughtfully, tapping his foot on the ground as he tries to remember. He doesn't do it mockingly, he acts as if he's truly trying to recall that time. "I can't really remember the exact day I was brought here anymore," he finally says. "I think maybe a few years or so? George got me Christmas presents awhile ago, and I've been able to see the passing seasons outside."

" _A few years_?" Eliza repeats.

Sam nods. "It's been a really long time since I had others to talk to, so I just stopped keeping track of the exact amount of days," he murmurs.

Eliza hums sadly. "Have you tried escaping before?" she asks next.

Sam begins to tap a rhythm on the wooden steps. "Of course," he says, his voice taking on a guarded tone. "Just because I act like a defenseless kitten in front of George doesn't mean I _am_ one."

Alex feels a surge of pride for him at his words, and he can't help looking smugly over at Jefferson, even though the man isn't paying attention to him. _Told you so_ , he thinks triumphantly, but doesn't say out loud. Instead, he looks back between Eliza and Sam.

Eliza seems to be struggling with a way to continue, but it's clear that Sam understands what she's getting at. "Look, I can't do anything for you guys," he says. His face twists in guilt, and he bows his head so he doesn't have to face them. "I'm sorry. I don't want you all to get hurt because of me."

"We're gonna get hurt no matter _what_ we do," Eliza says. "Sam, don't you want to go home?"

"Of _course_ I do," Sam insists. Then, in a quiet and serious tone, "You guys don't understand these woods. They go on _forever_. We'd get lost easily, we'd be disorientated, there's animals to worry about--"

"What about your family?" Angelica asks. "If not for us, or yourself, what about them?"

That makes Sam freeze. "I'd love to see my family again," he mutters, "but you don't get it. There's no escaping this place."

"Please, Sam--" Alex starts, preparing to use his debating skills to their advantage, but is interrupted by a soft question from Aaron.

"What did they do to Theodosia?" he asks. His tone sounds defeated, exhausted, and hearing it makes Alex clench his fists in anger and sadness.

 _He doesn't deserve to be feeling this sad_ , Alex thinks. _His wife should be with him, and we shouldn't fucking be here right now_.

Sam sounds just as upset at the mention of her name. "I'm sorry, Mr. Burr," he says, shaking his head. "I really don't know. I offered to help bury her, but they wouldn't let me."

Aaron doesn't say anything else, but Alex can imagine the kinds of thoughts that must be running through his head. _He doesn't deserve this_ , Alex thinks again, staring up at the dark ceiling to avoid looking at the guilt that reflects off Sam's face from the flashlight.

Then, as luck would have it, the door suddenly swings open.

Alex jumps in surprise, expecting it to probably be George again, but the fear in the tensing of Sam's shoulders and his widening eyes seems to somehow be... _different_.

When Alex hears the momentarily surprised, "Sam," which is quickly followed by dark irritation, "what are you doing down here?" he knows that it's not him.

Sam stands up, moving to grab the flashlight and turn it off. "Just wanted to make sure everyone is okay," Sam says in explanation. Then, in an unexpectedly hostile tone, "Since you and Lee tend to get a little reckless when you're around weapons, I thought I'd check to see that you didn't hurt anyone else."

 _What the hell are you doing?_ Alex wonders in shock, hearing Reynolds stalk down the stairs to meet Sam at the bottom.

"You'd be smart not to mouth off to me, _boy_ ," Reynolds snaps, reaching out a hand to close around Sam's throat. Alex can hear Sam's choking noises as he tries to squirm away from him, but Reynolds only continues in a calm yet annoyed tone, "Now, I'm not in the mood to deal with you. Go back upstairs and be George's good little lapdog, and don't you dare come back down here without one of us again, alright?"

There's silence and no movement from Sam, and after another sharp, " _Alright?_ " from Reynolds, he mutters his quiet understanding and pushes past him, treading back up the stairs. He doesn't bother shutting the door once he reaches the top.

Alex has only a second to wonder why Reynolds is down here, but then he walks immediately over to Maria, which is answer enough. Maria is quick in her terrified reaction, beginning to cry and scream from fear, even as his movements wrap the cuffs around her wrists as soon as she's freed is calm and relaxed. "I'm not letting you take me back up there again!" Maria yells, bringing up her leg to knee him, managing to get him in the stomach.

He grunts at the harsh pain, but without enough light to help her see, Maria doesn't get any farther than that. Reynolds clearly has enough experience to know his way around the dark in this basement, and he dodges her next kick. He grabs the cuffs and pulls her close to him, delivering a sharp slap against her face. He takes a hold of her torn up dress, pulling her up the stairs, still yelling out for help as she tries to escape from his grasp.

"No, let me go!" she snaps, trying to twist away from him. "Don't you fucking dare touch me again!"

Reynolds only makes a noise of amusement, still easily pulling her weight with him as he exits the basement. Alex groans in frustration, throwing his head back and regretting it as soon as it hits the hard wall. His looming headache settles painfully back inside of his skull again, and he bites down on his lip so he doesn't allow a pained whimper to escape.

"Fuck, I hate being able to do nothing," Jefferson spits, shifting uncomfortably in his shackles.

"Is this it, then?" Lafayette wonders aloud. "Sam seems to have made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to help us."

"He said he tried to escape before," Angelica argues, "he could just be scared to try again right now. Maybe he'll change his mind later."

"I doubt it," Jefferson mutters. Alex glares in his direction, even though he knows he can't see him, and ends up regretting it as soon as the headache throbs with his movement.

"How are we supposed to convince him, though?" Hercules asks next. "You heard Reynolds, who knows what'll happen to Sam if he comes back downstairs and they find him down here again. The risks he's been taking hasn't exactly been working well for him."

"He seemed fine with it," Angelica points out. "He sounded scared the first time he was down here and got caught, but he still came back, right?"

"Except now he was given very specific instructions to not come back down here," Lafayette murmurs.

"We'll just have to see what'll happen, right?" Angelica asks.

"I think he'll come to his senses," Eliza says in agreement to Angelica's words. "He must really miss his family and friends."

 _Hopefully that'll be enough to convince him_ , Alexander thinks, listening for a little bit to the sisters give a small talk of hope. Alex interjects whenever Jefferson says something negative, if only to start an argument in order to have something to do, but he regrets it as every word spoken makes his headache worse.

"Oh my _god_ , Jefferson, just stop talking," Alexander groans, feeling himself break out into a cold sweat from the pain. "I can literally feel my brain cells dying with every word you say."

Jefferson snorts. "Implying you actually _have_ brain cells to lose," he mutters.

"What the fuck is _that_ supposed to--" Alex starts angrily.

"Do you two seriously have to argue about everything?" John snaps with a sigh. "You'd think that during a time like this, we all would put our differences aside and try to work out another way to escape, now that we've probably lost our only other chance to freedom."

"It's not my fault he's an asshole," Alexander mutters, to which Jefferson replies with an exasperated huff. Thankfully, Thomas doesn't say anything else, and for once, Alexander is grateful that he doesn't have to try to defend himself in a debate. However, with the minor distraction of the argument gone, he can now focus full-force on the raging feeling inside of his head.

He hears a few of his friends doze off, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to them. Alexander can't sleep, keeping his forehead against the cold metal of his shackles to stay awake. He wants to see if Maria will be brought back down the stairs soon, but after a long time of waiting, he gives up on expecting the door to creak open and show her freshly hurt from whatever disgusting acts Reynolds did to her.

Finally, as a small hint of light begins to show through the window, his fatigue begins to catch up with him. Truthfully, he doesn't want to sleep, but as the headache begins to recede as he slips further into unconsciousness, he decides to welcome it. He only hopes that the next time he wakes up, he doesn't have to open his eyes to the sight of another sickening torture scene. He doesn't know how much more of this he'll be able to take before it starts to drive him into insanity.

He manages to fall into an uneasy sleep. He has a nightmare about Theodosia, getting her throat cut open by an invisible knife in front of him and bleeding onto the patches of dirt in the vast forest. Alex tries to run forward to stop this, yelling " _No!_ " but his feet are glued to the ground and he finds himself unable to move. She continues to bleed, and the blood keeps leaving her throat as she stares at Alex with a blank expression. The current of crimson won't stop, god, it's _everywhere_ \--

He wakes up with a jolt, and looking around frantically, he remembers the events of yesterday and he can't stop the sad noise that builds up in his throat as it all comes back to him vividly.

His friends notice his peculiar actions, and Washington asks a soft, "Are you alright, son?"

Alex can't stop the bristling reaction at his fatherly tone in the word _son_ , but he ignores it and mutters a confirmation. His voice is hardly convincing, and he knows that his friends don't believe him, but he tries to ignore their questioning eyes as he shuffles back against the wall, burying his head in his arms. After having to relive her death through that nightmare, he knows he won't be able to get back to sleep again, not even if he even wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, poor theo. she's a precious bean who didn't deserve this.
> 
>  
> 
> guys !! since school has started, posting might be a little slow, so please forgive me if i miss an update !! i promise i'll do my best to stick to saturdays though


	6. Chapter 6

_there's a couple waiting far behind_  
_soon they will be out of sight_  
_but then who cares_  
_they're dying anyway_  
_all of them are doomed this night_

 

Reynolds comes back down the stairs about a day later, Maria and the other two captors behind him. Maria's clearly still wearing the red dress he forced her into, and when Lee hurries over to turn on the light, Alexander can see more tears in the fabric that weren't there before. As she's put back into her shackles, Alex takes a closer look at her expression and immediately notices that she's oddly subdued compared to the other times she's been brought back downstairs. Her face is wet with ruined makeup, but thankfully she doesn't appear to have been given any physical injuries. However, Alexander dreads to think about what must have happened to her emotionally. She never really speaks about what happens to her upstairs, although Alex can guess, and he doesn't put pressure on her to talk about it.

She leans back heavily against the wall, closing her eyes and maintaining her silence. Eliza asks her a whispered question, but Maria doesn't respond. She doesn't even open her eyes when Reynolds steps across Eliza to remove James from his shackles, not even bothering to put on a smaller pair of cuffs in their place. James has barely any energy to struggle anyways, weakened by sickness and previous torture. Sam did a good job on patching him up, but he's hardly had any time to regain any of his strength.

 _Where is Sam, anyway?_ Alex wonders, noticing now that he's not down there with them. He figures he shouldn't be surprised by this, since Reynolds must have told George what happened last night. He doesn't know why that bothers him so much, but the strange feeling settles into his chest, and he realizes why as soon as James is pulled into the other room. He's still incredibly weak, they obviously know this, and if they ruin the work that Sam put into helping him--

 _Will they kill him so soon after Theodosia?_ Alex watches Lee as he walks to the steel table in their room, pulling on another pair of gloves and brushing his fingers over the sharp weapons in front of him. Alexander knows the man does it on purpose, a teasing way of proving his power over his victims by putting thought into the torture he'll force them to endure. He settles with a simple kitchen knife, then walks over to the other room to join Reynolds and George. Alex hears the _thud_ of a body falling to the floor, and the fearful protesting of his friends.

There's shifting around, and then the sound of a knife swooping downwards accompanied by ripping flesh. James gives a shout of pain, followed by the sharp cries of terror from the other victims in the same room as him.

"Now, Mr. Madison," Lee tsks with sickening amusement, "you gotta stay still, okay? We'll have to tie you up if you keep thrashing around like that." To Alex's horror, he can see a small pool of blood forming near the edge of the door. The three captors don't seem phased by it, clearly not bothered by the huge mess it'll create as they had been with Theodosia, and Alex can still hear the quick slashes of the knife as Lee cuts through James. Angelica yells out and it's clear that she tries to get Lee's attention to focus on her instead through insults, but Lee must be incredibly focused, as Alex hardly hears any pausing in the movements of his knife.

Alex hears a sound of pain next to him, and turns slightly to see Jefferson's eyes trained on the crimson pool in the doorway. He's biting his lip and shaking, and seeing someone as hardheaded as Jefferson being broken down at knowing his friend is being tortured is both a pitiful and terrifying sight. Alex wills that as soon as they get out of here, he's never going to allow any of them, including his rival, to wear such a look of terror again.

It almost makes him mad how much that makes it sound like he cares about Jefferson. Which, oddly enough, he can't bring himself to say he hates him anymore. After being forced to hear and witness someone being torn apart, as well as the mental trauma it's causing the other victims, Alex doesn't think he'll be able to have a debate with Jefferson without remembering the raw, utterly _human_ side of him that showed fear for his friend.

_Damn those three._

Another minute of their brutal violence continues, and throughout that time, Alexander hears the ripping sounds of the stitches that Sam had worked so carefully on during his limited time in the basement. The sound of the threads being torn to shreds both horrifies him and makes him angry. He wonders briefly how Sam would react to seeing his hard work being ruined within only a few seconds, while also worrying about how James must look now. George probably won't take him upstairs as he did for Theodosia, and Alex knows that Lee and Reynolds don't care about what happens to them, they only want to see more bloodshed. 

"Samuel did well on his stitching," Lee comments, finally taking a break from his cruel actions. There's the sound of standing up, the brightness and click from a camera's flash, and then Lee leaves the room with the other two behind him, stepping around the thick puddle in the doorway. They don't even bother trying to drag James back to his chains, but Alex knows he must be alive, as he hears a few whimpers of pain and Angelica saying something to him.

His attention is brought back to the present, and once Alex sees Lee, he feels his blood run cold. There's hardly an inch of him that isn't completely drenched in red, and the way he walks easily out of the room he left his victim in with a casual smile makes Alex feel sick to his stomach.

George looks suspiciously at Lee, and Reynolds nods in agreement. "I'm surprised you let Sam out of your sight, _Your Highness_ ," Reynolds sneers, poking George's shoulder. "Aren't Kings supposed to look after their subjects?"

Lee snickers at that, and George snaps defensively, "You know how Sam is. It's not my fault he--"

"It _is_ your fault he managed to get down here in the first place," Reynolds says, moving out of the way as Lee walks over to the table. He peels off the bloodied gloves and grabs a cleaning rag, wiping it over the blade with an amused smirk as he listens to Reynolds and George bicker.

The fighting continues on for the next few minutes, but Reynolds has enough of it when George refuses to relent. " _Stop_ ," he says darkly, cutting off whatever George was about to snap at him. "We'll talk more upstairs." He eyes the chained victims, who are watching the argument with a mix of curiosity and fear. Waving at Lee, he says, "Let's go," and turns to walk up the steps.

Alex stares in shock at the other room. _Are they just gonna leave James in there?_ The thought makes him excited for a moment, thinking that if they were so arrogant as to leave him in there without any sort of restraints, maybe James could--

Then, he catches sight of the blood-soaked concrete again, and knows that it's pointless. Even if James somehow _does_ survive, he'd be too weak to even move from his spot on the floor. Alexander shakes his head, silently scolding himself for pointlessly getting his hopes up.

"You guys go ahead," George says as they begin to leave. "I'll clean up down here."

Lee and Reynolds pause, and Lee turns to face him with a raised eyebrow. "You serious?" Lee asks suspiciously. He snorts out a laugh. "And here I was beginning to think cleaning was beneath you."

George makes an irritated noise, and waves them off. "Go on," he insists, "I'll be up there in a few minutes."

Lee shares a weird look with Reynolds. They both stare at George, then Reynolds shrugs disinterestedly and continues up the stairs. Lee follows behind him, and once the door is shut, George turns to those chained with a glare.

"Reynolds told me what happened last night," he says immediately, and Alex feels his heartbeat increase at the statement.

He knew that Reynolds had to have told George what happened, and even though he knew it, he didn't know what to expect if the man decided to confront them about it. Would they have to lie? Would he get pissed if he already knew the truth, but they still attempted to lie? Did he already talk to Sam about it? Is Sam being punished right now? What if--

"I'm guessing Sam already told you his..." George interrupts his frantic worrying, pausing to think of a word. "His living situation here, yes?"

 _'His living situation.'_ He can't even admit what he did. Alex curls his lip in frustration, his response dying away as he's overcome with anger.

"You're fucking sick," Eliza spits, voicing exactly Alexander's disgust at the man's statement, "keeping him here for... for what? Is he just a little fucktoy to you? Someone's emotions that you can freely mess around with?"

George turns to her, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "Samuel _loves_ it here with me," he tells her, as if it should be obvious. "I don't hurt him. I could never hurt him."

Alex can't help a snort of disbelief, and he's aware that he shouldn't bring it up, but he snaps before he realizes what he's saying, "What about that scar on the side of his face?"

He's also aware of his friends watching him in fear before George can whip around to face him, a blaze of fury in his eyes. " _That wasn't my fault_ ," he grits out, stalking over to him to tower over him.

The statement, while he doesn't admit it, is clearly clouded with guilt. Along with the way his eyes are burning with anger, a sudden change from his calm demeanor when talking to Eliza, Alex knows he struck a nerve. Clenching his fists in frustration, he doesn't want to risk pissing him off any further in case he decides to make Alex his next target.

George still appears to be angry at Alex's question, but he takes a quick breath and composes himself again. "Look," he says in his even, practiced voice, "I already know what you guys have been talking to Sam about."

Alex takes in a deep breath, feeling shocked as his mind automatically assumes that Sam told George about their conversations. Before the angry feeling of betrayal that can bubble up inside of him, George continues speaking, "Don't look at me like that. Sam didn't have to tell me, it wouldn't have been the first time something like this has happened."

That halts his emotions all together. _It wouldn't be the first time._ Alexander tugs again on the chains, feeling a small drop of horror spread slowly inside of him. Considering everything that Alex has been presented with, he knows that he and his friends aren't their first victims, but...

He stares down at the rusted shackles, clearly having been used before. He never gave it much thought. _Someone else could have been chained exactly where I am._ Someone was just as helpless as he and his friends are now, and Sam must have been caught in the middle of helping them and staying with George.

"I just want you all to know," George says, his tone darkening, "if you attempt to take advantage of Sam's kindness and try to use him to get out of here, not only will it not work, but I might take Lee and Reynolds up on their offers and bleed out every last one of you myself." He lets his words hang threateningly in the air, staring them down angrily. Alexander tries to meet his glare without a trace of intimidation, not wanting this man to win, but he gives in when George actually holds his gaze and refuses to look away. Quite literally staring into the eyes of a murderer is a terrifying thing. _Not something I'd ever think I'd do_ , Alex thinks, looking back at the floor.

Once he sees that they've taken his threat seriously, George huffs. "I hope you won't forget," he hisses, making his way over to the staircase.

"Are you not going to help James?" Hercules yells from the other room as he hears him about to leave.

George makes it up the first few steps, then pauses to turn in the direction of the other room. He hums for a few seconds, then smirks as he says, "Sam isn't here, and I'm afraid I'm not as generous as he is." The heels of his shoes click loudly on the wood as he treads back up the steps, not even bothering to shut off the light.

Once the door closes, Thomas calls out, "Jemmy, are you still awake?" There's no response, but Alex can hear the quiet, shallow breaths of pain that must be coming from him. The sound makes his stomach wrench, and that sickening feeling rises back up in his throat. 

"I'm sorry, Thomas," Maria mumbles, her voice surprising Alex for a moment as she speaks for the first time tonight. "He's not..."

"James!" Thomas tries again, ignoring Maria's implication. "C'mon, man, answer me! Say anything!"

"Reynolds told me before we came down here what he was gonna do," Maria says, looking sadly at Eliza as she speaks. "He doesn't intend for James to--"

" _Stop_ ," Thomas snaps, his voice filled with sudden rage as he looks in her direction. His eyes meet Maria's across the room, and she looks a bit nervous at the anger in his expression. Seeming to realize his strong emotion is scaring her, he softens, but he says through gritted teeth, "He can't die, he--he just can't."

Alexander doesn't speak. He doesn't know what he'd say to someone he's supposed to hate. Although the thought of hating Thomas now makes a hollow pit in his stomach twist guiltily, especially when his emotions are so incredibly _real_ and on display like this. Still, he doesn't know how else to cope with this situation, and even though he wants to do _something_ to make this better, he doesn't. He can't. James is-- _was_ \--his friend too, and even though they had drifted apart when James got closer to Thomas, Alex still feels the sadness in his gut at the thought of him being gone.

He bites his lip and tries to push away the grief. Thomas doesn't make any noise, as if his pride is too big to allow another hit from when he was so openly concerned for James. Alex tries to stay subtle as he casts a quick look in the man's direction, but he pauses in surprise to see dark tracks trail down his face. His eyes are narrowed and he stares ahead at nothing, and while it's an unbelievably sad sight, Alex thinks he would feel scared of the look of pure hatred in his eyes if it were him who had hurt James.

It's strange. The pity at seeing his rival so torn and guilt he feels for staying quiet whirls around like a storm inside his head, and he tries to feel better when Eliza attempts to console him from her spot in the room. Jefferson, not surprisingly, doesn't say anything in response to her. Her words are sincere, and it's not difficult to tell how awful she feels for him and for James, but they don't do anything to make it better. Thomas only shakes his head occasionally, denying her kindness.

He still tries to talk to James, with the man only making a few incoherent noises to assure them that he's still awake. Hercules and Angelica will speak to him as well in an attempt to help keep him conscious, but James continues to grow weaker as he loses more blood. Alex hopes that somehow Sam will make it down the stairs and help James again before it's too late, but he knows at this point that it's impossible.

The night comes. James eventually stops responding, and Thomas gives up trying to speak to him.

Without anything else to do, Alex begins counting the minutes in his head. He taps a quiet rhythm on his leg, trying to ignore the acid taste building in his throat as the stench of blood and death grows stronger. He looks around at his friends, observing their silent reactions in order to avoid the building misery he feels. He pauses on Eliza, feeling worse just from the look of sad hope in her eyes. He almost wishes she didn't believe so hard in the possibility of escape, it only makes him feel bad. Feeling himself being brought back into his own thoughts after getting a thorough scan of his friends, he also finds himself wishing that he could believe in the optimism she tries to provide for them all.

He stares at the window, the small amount of the outside he can see almost completely black from lack of natural light. There's still a touch of deep blue, but it's not as bright as it was the first night, and Alex knows that it must be getting closer to a new moon by now. He feels a stab of sadness, longing now to go outside, if only to see the last sliver of brightness before it temporarily disappears. As the time passes, he begins to wish for more smaller things. The stars, the trees, a park, hell, even just a cup of coffee. He never realized how much he appreciated those things until now.

He's so far into his thoughts that he doesn't notice any change in his environment. He probably wouldn't have noticed, if not for Washington's confused and hesitant voice, "What the hell are you doing--?"

Alexander snaps back to reality, his eyes darting over to the direction of the stairs. He expects the worst, Reynolds coming back downstairs to take Maria, or Lee wielding a knife and preparing for a second round. What he _doesn't_ expect is Sam scurrying to the steel table hissing a desperate, " _Don't say or do anything_." He shoves the different blades aside, clearly looking for something. He finds it extremely quickly, giving a relieved smile as he twirls a thick ax in his hand. Then, he races to the other room, disappearing almost as quickly as he first appeared.

Feeling dumbfounded at this sudden change in the atmosphere, Alexander listens to Sam as he drops to the ground. He hears a heavier sound fall after him, but he doesn't think too hard on that, as he's more interested in what Sam is doing and why he was searching so frantically for a weapon. There's a pause, and a muffled curse as he stands back up. Alex can gather that he must have been checking to see if James is still alive, and that his negative reaction isn't anything hopeful.

A million questions go through his head, wanting to know what Sam is doing down here. He has to have known that James wouldn't make it, George had to have told him, why was he bothering to come check on him? _How did he even get down here in the first place?_ George should be keeping a closer eye on him, there's no way that he would just let Sam gain access to the basement so easily, especially after--

"Look, I don't know how long we have," Sam says, his voice still clear and urgent, even from the other room. Alexander hears the dragged out sound of a zipper, then Sam's voice gets muffled as he moves further away from Alex's range of hearing. "George left with Reynolds to get the weekly stock of supplies. He told me that Reynolds is making him go so they can talk about how soft he's being on me." There's a dull sound of the ax hitting something, then the unmistakable sound of wood splitting. Sam breathes a laugh at his statement, but continues breaking whatever is in his path.

Alex looks at John, and their eyes both hold the same question. _What the hell is he doing?_ Alex is almost concerned that Sam has lost it, and is just destroying the thing in his way in some strange burst of insanity, but he has enough rationality left in him that he can think back to his words. _The way he's talking, saying he doesn't know how long we have..._ Sam included himself in that statement, so then, is he--

Sam makes a pleased noise as the ax cuts through the wood again, then Alex hears the object being shoved away, as well as the sound of the zipper again. Alex assumes it's a backpack, although he can't remember if Sam had been carrying one or not when he came down here. He doesn't try to recall it, instead focusing on resisting the urge to speak. Sam seems to know what he's doing, and although Alexander is both elated and nervous, he knows when it's best for him to keep his mouth shut.

"Lee promised to keep an eye on me while they were gone," Sam says with an unfocused voice, digging through the backpack as he continues talking, "but he's busy watching his weird documentaries in his room. He usually checks on me every few hours, and I just got down here fifty minutes into the time, so we better hurry up and get moving before he realizes we're gone."

His phrasing pretty much confirms it, but Alex can hardly find himself believing it, especially when his hope was slowly disappearing only minutes before Sam came down here. He's about to ask, wanting to know that he's not just allowing his stupid-hopeful-self feel relieved and grateful for no good reason. Maria is the one to beat him to it, though, asking softly, "Does this mean--?"

Sam stumbles out of the room with a bright room, a steel circle with keys dangling from his hand. He wears a triumphant grin, saying with a quick rush of breath, "We're getting out of here."

The world around Alex seems to completely stop as he stares at Sam, frozen in shock. Five words, five little words and everything suddenly lifts up in his mind. He's smiling before he even realizes it, and he almost wants to laugh in relief, _he's getting out of here_ , but he manages to stop himself with what little control he has left. Sam makes sure to hush them before they can get too overly excited, warning softly, "We still have to be quiet. Lee might be able to hear us if we celebrate now." He races over to Jefferson first, and Alexander watches his reaction as his eyes widen in surprise as a key slides into the lock, then the shackles fall open and release his wrists.

"The keys and locks are numbered," Sam tells him, helping Jefferson stand up. Sam fiddles with the keys for a few seconds, then slips a handful out and hands them over to him. "Could you help me with the rest? These ones should be for everyone in this room." Jefferson nods, still clearly shocked at this sudden turn of events as he stares at the mix of silver and gold in his palm. Sam beams and heads into the other room to help Angelica and Aaron, and Jefferson goes over to start with freeing Maria and Eliza.

When the sound of metal clacks on the floor, Eliza immediately stands up and rubs her wrists, her arms shaking. Alexander can hear the same muffled sound from the other room, and a second later, Angelica is running out of the room and enveloping Eliza in a strong hug. Eliza bursts into tears, her arms wrapping tightly around Angelica as she cries happily into her older sister's shoulder. The sight of their unity is strong enough to bring up a well of emotions inside Alex, but he doesn't want to cry, not now. Not when he's so close to escaping.

He hears the reoccurring sounds of shackles falling and freedom being handed back to them, and he watches gleefully as his friends stand up and shake away the feeling of being trapped. Washington lets out a sigh as he stands up, clutching at his shoulder and trying to hold it steady to ease the pain that must still be bothering him. Lafayette shakily whispers his gratitude in French, staring in wonder at his hands as if he still can't believe it. The sight is so enrapturing that Alex almost misses his own wrists being freed from their restraints, and he feels someone pulling him upwards.

Once he stands, he stumbles for a second, having completely forgotten about his headache until it decides to now make a reappearance. Alex groans, reeling and feeling as if he's about to fall, but he's held up by someone stronger before he can hit the floor again. The feeling of warmth and steadiness keep him grounded, and he presses against whatever is helping him. His hands flying up to press painfully against the throbbing of his skull, Alex looks up through the agony and pauses when Jefferson's eyes meet his through an unreadable expression. He feels a brief moment of confusion before he realizes that what he's leaning on is Jefferson, then immediately steps away, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment at his moment of weakness. Jefferson doesn't seem to care about that, his gaze drawn away so he can kneel on the ground and help John out.

Alexander feels the urge to fall back against him, wanting for someone to keep him held together, but once he realizes who he's thinking about, he straightens his back and pushes the thoughts away. He chalks up the longing to not having a kind touch in so long, and instead heads over to the sisters and give them each a hug. Eliza gladly wraps her small arms around his thin frame, and Angelica gives his cheek a polite kiss as she hugs them both close to her protectively.

"Is everyone okay? We all ready to go?" Sam asks, stepping into the room with a heavy bag over his shoulder.

Alex nods curtly, trying not to move his head too much in case it makes his headache worse. He untangles himself from the sisters and goes to stand next to John, but Angelica keeps an arm around Eliza's shoulders. John gives Alex a hug the second he's within reach, and Hercules and Lafayette rush to join them. Alex feels small in their crushing grip, but he can't find it in him to complain.

Sam nods happily when everyone is accounted for, turning and walking further into the other room. A small burst of light comes from a flashlight that Alex hadn't known he was carrying, and now, he can see part of the room Angelica, Aaron, Theodosia, and Hercules were forced to stay in. It's smaller than the room he was trapped in, and he can see underneath the staircase as he walks further into the room. The painting on the walls look just as chipped as the main room's, and the floor doesn't feel any less freezing as he walks.

"Hold on," Jefferson interrupts, making them pause. Alexander stops looking around the room and turns to watch Thomas, about to feel annoyance that he's holding them up, but then he feels his heart drop as the man kneels on the floor and nudges James with a look of desperation.

"This is it, man," Thomas mutters. "You have to get up, please. We're finally leaving, we'll get to go home. Come on."

Nothing. Nobody says anything as Thomas waits, hoping that his friend will wake up. A few moments pass, then his shoulders droop with sadness and disappointment, snapping a soft, " _Damn it_ ," out loud as he stands back up. He catches up to the group and sharply pushes past Alex, and while the gesture was rude and Alex feels himself bristling defensively, he also knows that he shouldn't say anything about it. He's still pissed off at the three that trapped them here, and he can't wait to get back to civilization and get their captors thrown in prison.

The group moves on quietly, stepping over the boards that Sam had smashed down. They had been blocking a doorway that Alex probably would have missed, had he been one of the four originally stuck in the room. It leads down a small passageway, and it's just enough room that two can walk side-by-side. John walks next to Alex, while Thomas is at the front with Sam. Angelica and Eliza walk in front of them, and Washington, Maria, Hercules, Lafayette, and Aaron tread behind them.

"There should be another backpack up here," Sam says, almost to himself, jogging a few steps ahead of them as he shines the flashlight over the corners. "Anyone feel strong enough to carry it?"

Confusion is the first feeling that comes to Alex's mind, especially when Sam says a quick, " _A-hah!_ " and bends over to drag what's clearly a large, forest-green backpack into view. It's bulky, and Alex can tell that it's already filled with different supplies.

"How did you know there'd be a backpack here?" Alexander asks as Thomas walks forward, offering to carry the bag.

From the small amount of light, Alexander can see Sam's smile falter for a second as it changes from triumph to bitterness. "An old friend of mine insisted on leaving it here," he mumbles, turning away to stare at something above him. Sam doesn't say anything else on the subject, instead, he pushes upwards and jumps a few times. Alex can hear the creaking of boards, and Sam reaches for the ax in his backpack again to push his way up. After more prodding, the boards finally give way and open wide to reveal a night sky.

Alex never thought he could be so happy to see the sky. He laughs at the sight, elation at seeing the stars and midnight-blue above him overwhelming. Sam throws his backpack up first, and then Jefferson helps Sam up, holding out his palms for him to step on so he can launch himself into the grass. He disappears for a moment, then his head appears again, and Thomas does the same for the sisters. They manage to get up with little help, although Sam offers his hand to them as they climb their way out.

John goes next, and after him, Alex steps up. Pressing his foot into his palm, he jumps up and grabs at the grass, feeling ecstatic at being outside, being _free_ , again. He turns to Jefferson, who's still watching him with a blank expression, and mutters a quiet, "Thanks." He never thought he'd have to say that to his sworn enemy, but he feels like he should say at least something.

Of course, Thomas can't allow him to be nice, as he rolls his eyes and whispers back, "Shut up," as he helps Lafayette up next. Alex can't help a smile, feeling as if he can finally get back into his routine of arguing with Jefferson. Then, he's struck with the sight of Jefferson looking at James's body with such sadness, and with a pang, he remembers what he had realized before. It'll never truly be the same again.

Finally, Jefferson tosses the bag he was carrying back onto the grass, and with the help of Hercules and Sam, he's among them again. He gives a breathy sigh of relief, running his hands over the thick strands of grass on the ground.

"Never thought we'd get to see this again," Jefferson says in amazement. The others laugh and murmur their agreement.

"We can take a moment later to be grateful," Angelica interrupts. "Right now, I think we should be on our way and get as far away from here as possible."

More noise of agreement. There's a moment of confusion, as none of them seem to know what to do, but Washington is the first to do something as he steps up to Sam. "Do you have any idea where we can go?" he asks.

Sam's eyes take on a sudden look of fear, as if he didn't expect to be the one making such a heavy decision. Still, he takes a deep breath and nods, then leads them along the side of the cabin, giving Alex some time to use the small amount of moonlight to get a good look of the place they just escaped.

It looks just like a normal cabin. The exterior looks like a dark, chestnut color in the dark lighting, and it's clear it's at least a two-story building. Alex feels a small twinge of fear as he can see a few lights still on upstairs, and Sam seems to take notice, as he assures them quietly, "Don't worry, Lee's room is on the highest floor. He won't even think to look outside as long as we can stay as quiet as possible." They heed his advice and hardly make a noise, walking after Sam until he stops and points. "I see Reynolds drive his truck down this way all the time, and whenever he comes back, it's always through here. If we walk further ahead, maybe we'll be be able to follow a path his truck leaves."

He sounds nervous, but Washington gives him a reassuring smile and says kindly, "It's a start, son. Now, let's get going before Lee notices we're gone." Washington takes the lead so no one else has to worry about it, with Sam walking by his side. Angelica and Eliza are the ones to catch up this time, and Alex does another quick check to make sure all of his friends are with him. He feels pained when he can't name off Theodosia or James, and he sees the grief still clear in the way Thomas and Aaron walk.

Still, he takes a deep breath, and is grateful that he made it out alive. _I'm free_ , he thinks, a new reality coming over him joyfully as he breathes in the fresh air and stares at the stars shining in the sky. _Oh, god, I'm free._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @reynolds and king i can't believe yall left sam with lee -- and i'm sorry, james. you didn't deserve this.
> 
>  
> 
> but fear not, this isn't the end !! there's still 15 chapters to go :') (and thank you for bearing with me, i can safely say the jamilton you have been waiting for is getting closer :D...)
> 
> also thank you guys so much for all of your support, i'm so glad people are enjoying this fic (i had no idea what to expect when i first uploaded it). all of your kudos, comments, and bookmarks make me smile <3 you guys are the best, love you all <3


	7. Chapter 7

_eleven horses swimming in the sea_  
_the sea they thought was just a river_

 

Alexander doesn't know how long they walk for, but they don't stop, even when the sky gets brighter and they can finally see the sun above the treetops. Alex had watched the dark blue fade into a deep mix of purple and pink with appreciation, hardly able to express how incredibly grateful he was to see such a sight. Now, staring at the vast blue above him, he doesn't feel like tearing his eyes away. Angelica smiles in amusement when she sees his awestruck expression, and he can tell with the way her arm tightens around her sister as she stares at their surroundings that she feels the same way.

Even though they've walked for hours, it doesn't seem like enough. Alex looks behind him and jumps at almost everything, expecting Lee to come back with his weapons or have Reynolds drag them back into the basement. He also thinks of George's threat when he admitted that he knew of Sam's visits and their conversations, and whenever the man comes to mind, he can't help looking ahead where Sam is. He has a few whispered conversations with Washington and Angelica, and while Alex can't hear them, he doesn't bother trying to listen in.

Angelica keeps up well with him, and surprisingly, Eliza does too. She shakes as she walks, and it looks like her sister is the only one who's keeping her held up, but she still pushes on and manages to stay in time with them. They don't speak to each other, but it seems that Sam takes comfort in having someone walk at his side.

It worries Alex, seeing how much weaker Eliza has gotten. The long walk can't be helping her, and he just hopes that soon they can stop, and they won't have to walk for awhile longer. Alexander himself is growing tired, but he's motivated through the knowledge that they've gotten away from their captors, and as long as he keeps walking, he'll never have to go back. He wonders if Eliza has the same mentality, and that's what's keeping her going.

Alexander will occasionally glance at Burr and Jefferson, wondering if they're falling behind. He assumes that their heavy grief as well as the endless walking might be slowing them down, but unless someone is looking closely at their expressions, they'd appear just as strong as ever. The only way Alexander can tell that their thoughts are elsewhere is by the cold, unfocused bitterness in their eyes. Lafayette and Hercules walk with them, almost like a silent agreement to keep an eye on them both.

The others seem to be as fine as one could be in their situation, but none are without the consequences of a long walk. A burning ache resides in Alex's legs, and the strain on his body has only made his headache worse. Still, he doesn't complain, not wanting to make any of his friends feel worse.

As soon as his head feels like it's about to explode from the agonizing pain, Washington stops them. Alex opens his eyes before he runs into Sam, not even realizing that he had closed them, and feels the pain fade back into the corner of his mind when he hears the soft sound of moving water. He steps around Washington to look, and can't help a grateful sigh as soon as he sees a small, running stream of water, stretching beyond Alex's line of sight. The water, thankfully, looks fresh, and Alex almost feels like crying out how grateful he is. _At least we found something._

Washington turns back around, looking at the area around him. "I think we can camp here for a night or so," he says. Alex is thirsty enough that he almost wants to drop on the riverbank and take a drink from the stream, but he knows that Sam brought supplies, so he walks over to one of the trees, then falls to the ground in relief. He makes sure not to hit his head on the tree, and he tilts his head to watch Thomas and Sam as they drop the backpacks on the ground. They both groan in relief and stretch out their arms, and Alex is caught again with the longing to be wrapped up in his strong grip.

Then, once again, he remembers exactly who he's thinking of. Alex sighs at himself, looking away and tightly shutting his eyes. The confusion of his thoughts is only making his headache worse. _I must already be delirious_ , he thinks. He directs his thoughts away to avoid making himself feel worse, and focuses on how grateful he is to finally be able to sit down. The exhaustion he feels is heavy, but he's too paranoid to be comfortable to sleep. It feels like they escaped too easily, and that Reynolds or Lee will come back for them. He takes a deep breath, deciding to make the most of their freedom in case they're caught again.

"Here, Hamilton," a voice says suddenly, and before Alexander can open his eyes, he feels something drop into his lap. The weight isn't too heavy, but it catches him off guard. He startles, but miraculously manages not to hit his head on the tree. The person above him snickers in amusement as Alex stares down at what they dropped. He's greeted with the sight of a purple water bottle, and immediately scrambles to open it and take a deep gulp. The water is cold and slides satisfyingly down his throat, and he manages to get a few good gulps before it's taken away. Alex blindly reaches to drag it back, knowing he must look like a child, but he's still thirsty, so he doesn't care. The voice tsks, and holds it out of reach.

Glaring up at the person, Alex finds himself staring at Jefferson's stern expression. "Drink in moderation, Hamilton," he says, "we should try to make our supplies last as long as we can."

Alexander feels his face heat up, knowing that he had been drinking a lot more than he had probably needed to keep his strength up. He's also remembering his thoughts and realizing that they've only gotten stronger now that the man's standing above him. However, the familiar annoyance of Jefferson's arrogance comes back, and he tries to stay on that train of thought to ignore the much more troubling thoughts. "There's a stream right there," Alex snaps, nodding at the rushing bank of water.

Jefferson turns his head to look, then huffs. "Water could be filled with bacteria," he says, "and besides, that doesn't give you an excuse to waste what we have right now."

Rolling his eyes and deciding not to respond, Alex turns away. Thomas seems to take this as a victory, and he drops the bottle back into Alex's lap. Now aware that he doesn't want to drink too much of the water, he fiddles with it for awhile while occasionally glancing over at his friends.

Angelica sits beside Eliza, who's lying on her back with her eyes closed. Her chest rises spasmodically, and Alexander can tell how badly both of them are shaking from the hand that Angelica rests on Eliza's forehead. A water bottle rests at their side, half-empty, so Alex can only hope that Eliza was about to take a drink. She looks feverish, and by the way Angelica's brow is furrowed, he can only assume that she's only feeling worse.

Jefferson sits on the ground, rummaging around through the backpack he had carried. Lafayette is next to him, and he speaks in a low voice that Alex can't make out. He looks concerned, but Jefferson seems to brush it off with a shake of his head. Sam and Washington sit near them, with Sam going through the backpack while talking to the older man. He shows a few things to Washington, and the other nods as he continues.

Maria, Aaron, Hercules, and John sit by themselves, sprawled across the ground. John and Hercules look relieved and relaxed now that they can sit down, but Maria and Aaron both wear troubled expressions. It makes Alex sad that they can't enjoy their freedom as much as the others with their thoughts, but he's glad that they're all accounted for.

Eliza coughs loudly again, and Alex looks over to see Angelica hurrying to help her. Eliza's trembling has only increased, and Angelica looks in fear as she helplessly watches her sister. The sight only makes Alex feel worse. He can't stand seeing them both look so miserable, and he finds himself standing up to walk over to the sisters. He's not sure what he can do, but he wants to at least be there for them.

Angelica nods at him with a tight smile, but Eliza hardly acknowledges him. He sits down on the other side of Eliza, reaching out to grab her other hand wordlessly. "You're gonna be fine, Eliza," Alex assures her as he takes her small hand. "We'll be out of here soon enough."

Eliza coughs again, but Alex thinks he can see a small smile on her face. "I hope so," she mumbles back once she can speak without being interrupted by the coughing. "I'm just... I'm really tired right now. And hungry."

"We all are, hon," Angelica says, running a gentle hand through Eliza's hair, "but we don't have to go anywhere for a little while longer. You can just rest right here while Sam and Thomas look through the supplies we have." Eliza nods in response, and they settle into silence with the noise of the woods sounding around them.

After a few minutes, Sam stands up with a nod to whatever Washington said. He holds a blanket in one hand and walks away from him. He walks in their direction, but before Alex can ask what Sam's doing, he sits on the ground next to Angelica with his head ducked. "I thought she might need this," Sam says shyly, spreading out the blanket and settling it over Eliza's shivering form. Alexander lets go of Eliza's hand as she moves to clutch at the soft material, her hands still trembling.

"Thank you," she murmurs quietly.

Alex can't see Sam's face too well, but he can see his mouth turn lightly upwards in a small smile. "It's no problem at all," he responds kindly, twisting his hands together. None of them speak for a moment, but Sam immediately goes to fill in the silence when he realizes that none of the others will. "It's been awhile since I've been outside," he says, dropping a hand to twirl around patterns in the dirt. "I mean, being outside with my own freedom. George used to take me on walks and he would sometimes let me stay out on the porch with him, but that was pretty much it."

Alex hums sadly, not knowing what else to say. He knew that Sam wouldn't be given too much freedom, but it makes him upset that Sam hasn't been allowed to do something on his own accord for a few years. He feels awful that Sam's been stuck with the three for so long, but he's grateful he came to his senses and decided to help them before they all got killed. He doesn't know exactly what pushed that decision, and without thinking, he asks, "Is that why you decided to help us, then? You realized that fighting for your freedom is better than doing nothing?"

Sam tenses up at that, but before Alex can apologize for his normal lack of filter, Sam responds, "Yeah, mostly. I just got to thinking, and... I just really want to see my family again." He turns slightly to Angelica, then asks in a small voice, "You said you saw my face on a missing person flyer?"

Angelica nods with a warm smile. "I can remember now that I've thought more about it," she says. "It was this little girl handing them out, she didn't look any older than twelve."

Sam smiles again at that. "That must've been my little sister, Abigail," he says in a wistful tone. Then, chuckling, "She's actually about seventeen now, but she's always been small. Don't let her hear that, though, she's always been defensive about her height."

Angelica's smile grows at that. She runs her fingers through Eliza's tangled hair gently, saying, "She was a nice girl. I think the reason I remember this so clearly is because how desperate she seemed to find you." She shakes her head sadly, looking down at Eliza's quavering form. "I would have acted the same way if I had been her."

Sam nods in understanding, turning his eyes to Eliza. She still shakes, but she manages a grin as she realizes she has their attention and says through chattering teeth, "Y-You've been pretty tough Sam, s-surviving for all that time on your own."

Shrugging and ducking his head lower, Sam says quietly, "I... Well, I wasn't always on my own."

Alex had already gathered that information from what Sam had told them about the second backpack, but he's been curious since he never elaborated on who he was talking about. Sam seems to be giving them an opportunity to ask questions about it, but before Alex can ask the first one, he hears the flopping of weight on the ground to his left, and feels a shower of leaves hit him.

"How's it going over here?" a voice asks carefully, and after he brushes the flakes off his shirt, he turns and sees John watching Eliza with a polite smile. He fiddles his hands together in his lap, and if Alex hadn't been good at noticing the little things with his friends, he wouldn't be able to see the worried gaze hidden under a cool exterior.

"About as good as you think," Angelica sighs.

Eliza laughs, which breaks off into a cough. She forces herself to stop quickly, then says with a strained voice, "You guys are worrying f-for nothing, I-I'm doing-- _cough_ \-- _swell_."

Angelica rolls her eyes fondly, but her words are clearly an order as she tells her, "Sleep, Eliza. You might feel better once you get some rest."

"Good plan, Angie." Eliza closes her eyes and shifts onto her side, facing her sister. Angelica lays down next to her, and Sam moves out of the way as she stretches out her legs and pulls Eliza close to her.

"Washington wants to get everything set up," Sam says, nodding at the man who stands a distance away from them. He's gathering a small pile of cans together, also holding a can opener. "We agreed that it might be best to not start a fire for a little while, don't want to draw too much attention to us in case the three come after us. Lee must've already alerted the King and Reynolds of what happened."

Alex cringes again at the use of his nickname for George. "You really don't have to call George that anymore," Alex insists, glad that he can finally talk to Sam about it, "you're free now, he isn't going to come back for you."

Sam averts his eyes again as Washington comes over, murmuring something too low for Alex to hear. Washington nods at them, then looks at Eliza with a pained expression. "Sleeping yet?" he asks quietly, allowing Sam to hand him the can he had brought over and open it himself.

Eliza shakes her head. "Too hungry," she says, opening her eyes as the sweet scent of peaches fills the air. Washington smiles and leans over to Angelica, allowing the older sister to help Eliza sit up and take a slice from the can. The smell makes Alexander's stomach growl, but he can't find it in himself to ask to take from the sisters. He's grateful they at least finally have something in their stomach.

Luckily, Alex doesn't have to wait too long for something. Washington pops open another can, which is filled with pineapples. He gingerly takes the can from Washington's grip and scoots next to John, handing him a piece as he watches Washington go over to Maria and attempt to hand her a different can of peaches. The girl shakes her head politely, though, nodding to Burr and whispering something. Washington looks uncomfortable, but walks over to Burr anyway.

John had been watching the scene as well. He looks at Alex and notices that he's watching them, and he suggests, "If she doesn't eat soon, we really should go try to help her. She's only gonna feel bad later if she doesn't get something to eat."

Alex sighs as he takes a bite of the ring of pineapple. The sharp, sweet taste fills his mouth, and he sighs again, gratefully this time. Taking a deep breath as he swallows, he says, "She must be really nervous after everything that happened." Then, in a lower voice, "Especially after how Reynolds treated her."

John nods at that, and doesn't say anymore. They finish what's left in the can quickly, and while it necessarily isn't satisfying enough for Alex, he doesn't want to ask for more. Irritatingly enough, he knows that Jefferson is right when he says that they shouldn't use all of their supplies immediately. Not that he'll admit that to his face. Still, even though his stomach still rumbles slightly in a plea for more, he won't request for another can. Instead, he stands up and walks over to a tree near the edge of their small camp, hoping to maybe fall asleep now that he has a full stomach.

He nods off every few minutes, but he can't seem to stay asleep. He wakes up at one point feeling warmer, and he lifts his hand up to feel his head, worrying he might be coming down with a fever. Then, he feels the light brush of something soft against his arm, and he realizes that someone's put a blanket over him.

He figures it was Sam, and looking over, he sees the smaller man on the ground next to Angelica, his back turned against her's. Shifting around, he looks up and sees that the sky has gone to a darker mix of pink, purple, and blue. He looks around again, and he spots Jefferson talking to Lafayette. He must have realized someone was watching him, and he turns to Alex with narrowed eyes. Huffing and choosing not to start something with him, he averts his gaze and tucks his arms underneath his head. Feeling warmer, he finds it easier to relax, and he closes his eyes.

He wakes up again, and it feels like it's only been seconds. He doesn't feel like opening his eyes, but he feels uneasy, as if his surroundings have changed somehow. Sitting upwards, and rubbing his eyes, he expects to find himself back in the basement he was trapped in, but thankfully he can hear the sound of the woods moving around him as well as the gentle sound of the flowing stream. Noticing just how dark it is, he looks up and is greeted by the swirling black and blue of the night sky, stars scattered beautifully above him. He stares at the sight with adoration, grateful that he can finally admire the view without worrying about getting as far away from the cabin as possible.

He hears the soft sounds of snoring around him as well, and he can hear the deep breathing of someone close to him. He turns carefully, aware of the headache that can come back if he isn't cautious as well as not wanting to wake whoever is near him. He comes face to face with another figure, and after squinting, he thinks he can make out John's curly hair. Then, sitting up, he sees a few other figures behind him, and thinks that they must be Lafayette and Hercules.

Alexander has no idea how they could have situated themselves so quietly without him waking up. Either they're extremely stealthy and knew that Alex really needed to rest, or he's a heavier sleeper than he thought.

Regardless, he isn't tired any longer, and the thought of trying to go back to sleep seems incredibly boring to him. Rolling his shoulders and stretching out his arms carefully as to not hit his friends, he sets the blanket aside and squints again to look around. He can just barely make out the black silhouettes of his friends in the dark.

He knows he probably shouldn't, but he's bored, and he doesn't feel like he could get back to sleep now. Instead, he stands up, and feels the chill of the night without the blanket wrapped around him. Shivering and trying to adjust to the cooler temperature, he focuses on listening to the sounds around him. Immediately, he's greeted with the familiar sounds of crickets and other animals as well as the calming noise of the stream as it flows. If he had decided to go back to sleep, he probably could have fallen unconscious just listening to the peaceful sound. However, he listens closer, and gets so hypnotized by the sound that when he's aware of himself again, he finds himself walking down the path in the direction of the stream's flow.

His eyes have adjusted more to the cold as well as the darkness, so he watches his surroundings as he takes a walk. The trees sway gently with the light breeze that's roaming around him, and he wishes that it was daylight so he could appreciate the scene much more. He does enjoy the sky above him, loving the how bright the stars look in pure night. He gets distracted for a second and steps on a branch, and the loud crack it makes as it snaps makes him jump. He looks around wildly for a moment, thinking that someone's about to leap out of the bushes and attack him, but the fear doesn't become reality, and he almost smacks himself for getting so worked up.

Taking a deep breath to calm down his worries, he tries to orientate himself the best he can in the dark. He really is a bit scared to be out by himself, but he tries to tell himself that nobody bad is coming to get him. Besides, he knows the direction he's walking, it's not like he's going to get lost. Still, this feeling of being alone as he gets further and further from his group makes him worry.

Right now, though, walking by himself, it's... _peaceful_ , being alone with nothing other than the surrounding woods. He wishes he had some sort of light, since even though it is a very relaxing feeling to feel alone, he can't shake this feeling that he isn't truly by _himself_ \--

"Hamilton?" someone asks, surprised.

The voice startles him, but he manages not to cry out in fear. He does stumble, though, but before he can fall, the person rushes forward and grabs onto him, keeping him from completely dropping onto the dirt. Terror immediately clouds his mind, and he begins trying to fight the person off, thinking again of the three that had taken them and the overwhelming feeling of not wanting to go back to that disgusting basement.

"Christ, Hamilton," the person grunts, dodging a throw that Alex throws at them. They drop Alexander again because of his defensive movements and take a step back. "It's just me, calm down!"

Alex huffs at the fall, but it manages to make him pause at the familiar voice, thankful that it doesn't sound like any of the three that had kidnapped them. He recognizes who it is almost immediately now that he's paying attention, and he lets his arms fall to his side, even though he still isn't happy about who it is. He feels his face heat up from the contact he had with him for a second, and he's grateful that it's dark so Jefferson can't see how much he's blushing. Groaning, he rubs a hand over his face, muttering, "Oh yeah, definitely calm now that you're here. Why the hell are you following me?"

"Shut up," Jefferson snaps. "I was taking the first watch, for your information, and I saw you leaving." Alex notices now that Jefferson's carrying a flashlight, but the light falls to the ground as he sits next to Alex. There's a brief moment of silence between them, with nothing other than the sound of the river moving with the occasional chirp of an animal, then he asks, "Why did you leave in the first place? You're an idiot, but I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to go walking in these woods by yourself."

Rolling his eyes, even though he knows Jefferson can't see him, he says in reply, "Your company was just so dull, I was hoping to get away from you. Of course, nothing ever seems to go my way when it comes to you." 

Thomas lightly slaps Alex's arm, saying with annoyance, "I wasn't asking for a sarcastic answer, dumbass. I'm serious, why are you all the way out here?"

"None of your business," Alex snaps, laying down on his back and staring up at the sky to avoid Jefferson's eyes. He doesn't know how he'd feel if he meets his gaze in the dark. "Why would I even tell you in the first place? It's not like you care."

"It is my business when you go off in unknown parts of the woods by yourself," Jefferson scowls. "It's _all_ of our business. You think we haven't lost enough people already?"

That makes Alexander's speech leave him completely for a few minutes, and Jefferson doesn't bother filling in the silence in that time. Alex doesn't feel his eyes on him anymore, and when he turns to look, Thomas is staring at the ground. Shifting uncomfortably, it seems to take Alex forever to gather his words to speak again. "I haven't offered my condolences yet for James," he says quietly, feeling unsure of himself suddenly.

Thomas shrugs. "He was your friend, too," he says simply in response.

He doesn't say anything else, but once the tense air around them gets too strong, Thomas finally moves. Alex expects him to stand up and tell him that they should be heading back, but instead, Thomas moves to lay down on his back. Watching him in surprise, he feels his face grow hotter as they rest near each other. Not trusting his own words, he bites down on his tongue and turns back to look at the sky.

It's easy to get lost in the endless dots of light across the beautiful black and blue. He picks out a few pictures he can make of the patterns in his mind, and it seems like the time has passed long before Thomas's voice startles him again. "It's really pretty, isn't it?" he asks. "No cars or other people to ruin the quietness, no streetlights to dull the view. It's nice."

Alexander finds himself nodding, able to forget for a moment that he's supposed to despise this man as they both lose themselves in the beautiful view they've been offered. "I wish I had appreciated it more before," Alex says wistfully.

Thomas huffs out a laugh. "We'll probably have plenty of time to stargaze out here," he tells him. He continues before Alex can let his words truly settle in or acknowledge how he said _we_ , "I've always enjoyed looking out at space. When you really think about it, how small we are compared to the entire universe... It's a fascinating thing."

Feeling a smirk come on his face, Alex turns to poke Thomas's shoulder, teasingly asking, "Ever have dreams of being an astronaut when you were a kid?" After an indignant growl from Thomas, Alex continues, "Did you? You totally did, didn't you, Tommy?" 

Thomas moves a few centimeters away from him, and it's just then that Alex notices how close they really were. He doesn't have time to question how he didn't notice that or care about it as Thomas starts saying, "One, don't ever call me 'Tommy' again. Two, shut your mouth. I just like learning about the galaxy is all."

Alex refuses to believe it. "Oh, I bet you did," he says, unable to keep the laugh from this sudden knowledge. "Aww, Tommy, that's so adorable!"

"Oh my _god_ ," Thomas groans, bringing his hands up to cover his face, "shut the hell up."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Alex assures him, patting his shoulder.

Thomas swats his hand away, hissing, "I'm going to throw you in the river."

"Then you'd be in charge of making sure I don't catch hypothermia," Alex declares, rolling onto his stomach and resting his head on his forearms. Too late, he realizes the implication of that, but before he can backtrack, Thomas only chuckles and tells him to shut up again. 

They sit quietly for another few minutes, staring in wonder at the sky. Alex is grateful that they're trying to go back to normal, even though it's difficult. He really needed someone to distract him from reality, even if it was arguing over something stupid. He hopes that it'll be easier than he originally thought to go back to normal with him. 

About another minute passes, then Thomas asks, "Did you have a nightmare?" He must have sensed Alexander's confused look, as he keeps speaking, "I'm still just wondering why you went on a walk by yourself is all. Usually I like to be alone when I have a nightmare, too."

Alex shakes his head. "I just kept waking up," he tells him. "Didn't feel like going back to sleep." He's not sure why he's not fighting him on it now as he was earlier, as he expected to be ready for any chance to argue, but he's too exhausted to do that now.

Thomas hums to himself. "Thought the blanket would have made you sleep better," he mutters. Alexander supposes the words weren't meant for him to hear, but he can't help the wide-eyed reaction he has to it. When Alex doesn't reply, Thomas looks over at him. Taking in his shocked reaction, Thomas realizes what he said, then curses, "Shit, I said that out loud, didn't I--look, I was handing out what blankets Sam had brought already. There weren't that many, I told your friends that one of them should just share with you--"

" _Thomas_ ," Alex interrupts when he finds his voice, cutting off his rambling. Thomas stops speaking, but Alex can assume if it were daylight, he could see the man's face darken with a blush. He realizes that he just called him by his first name, not teasingly, but he pushes on before either of them can acknowledge it. "It's fine, calm the hell down."

Thomas doesn't seem as tense when he realizes Alex doesn't think it's weird, and he clears his throat, grabbing for the flashlight and standing up. "Of course it's fine," he says with a smirk, reaching out a hand to help Alex stand up. "Can't let you go thinking you're special."

Snickering, Alex takes his hand and lets himself be pulled upwards. "God forbid," he responds, following Thomas as he leads him upstream again, back to their temporary campsite and their friends. Alex looks at the ground this time, now that he has the light, and tries to avoid stepping on any twigs or leaves to keep from waking up the others.

Halfway through the walk, Alex notices that he never let go of Jefferson's hand. He pulls away instantly, almost regretting it when the heat leaves his palm and is replaced by a frosty chill. Jefferson doesn't speak, and Alex can only guess what he's thinking, but he doesn't speak, either.

They reach the edge of their camp, and Thomas does a quick count of their friends. Alex muffles an amused snort behind his hands as Thomas reaches the end and then counts the both of them, and he whispering teasingly, "Some guard you are, space freak."

Groaning softly into his hands, Thomas mutters back, "You aren't ever going to let that go, are you?"

Alex shakes his head, taking a few deep breaths so he doesn't wake the others with his laughter. Thomas glares at him, but when Alex doesn't stop laughing, his mouth quirks upwards into a smile. "You are awful, Alexander," he says. Alex perks up, beaming as if he was just given praise. The excited feeling falls quickly, though, replaced with something more serious as Thomas calms down and says, "Y'know, it was nice talking to you without you bitching at me every five seconds."

Gulping, those irritating thoughts of wanting to be closer to him come back to mind, but he says before he can say anything more stupid, "Yeah, I suppose it was." There's a moment of an awkward silence between them, and Alex hurries to speak, "You can go to sleep now, I'm not tired. I can take the next watch."

Thomas nods quickly, muttering, "Yeah, okay," and runs off to the spot he must have been at previously. Alex watches as he lies down on the ground, turning so his back faces him. Annoyingly, the treatment makes Alexander's heart speed up nervously, fearing that he fucked something up. Shaking his head at himself as he remembers that it's _Jefferson_ he's thinking of, he finds a different spot to sit down in front of a tree and he presses his back against it, trying not to think about what had happened as the night passes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alex is very smart, as you can tell. walking off in the woods by yourself in the middle of the night, wow. thank god good ol' tommy was there to save you, alex.
> 
>  
> 
> guys !! i'm !! so !! sorry !! i didn't mean for this to be as late as it is !! the only excuse i can offer is that the fair is going on in my town currently, and i spent a ton of time there last weekend ^^' i'll try not to slack off so much next time, apologies again !!
> 
> also yes i made thomas a space nerd fight me
> 
> aNYWAYS the jamilton is finally starting to build up ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) i hope you guys are ready cause i'm sure not
> 
> well i'm off to go wait for the new south park episode. i hope you all like this chapter !! <3


	8. Chapter 8

_they're used to this_  
_it's probably just a race_  
_that helps to ease their minds_  
_but where's the finish line_

 

The night wasn't as cold as Alexander had expected it to be. He's still shivering from the freezing ground when he wakes up, but he's grateful to have at least woken up in the first place. Lifting his head, he sees that John is still next to him, eyes trained tiredly on the area around him. Alex feels bad seeing him so exhausted, but when Alex asked him to take over his watch before he went to sleep, he had perked up and agreed easily, happy to have something to do.

"You ready to go back to sleep?" Alex asks as he sits up, his voice thick and gravelly. John jumps at the sound of his voice, his eyes suddenly widening in alarm. Alex rushes to apologize for scaring him, but John only laughs.

"I was about to fucking punch you," John snorts, shaking his head. "In answer to your question, though, I'm not tired. You can go back to sleep if you want to." It's a pointless offer, both of them know that. Alexander can never get back to sleep once he's woken up. He's also lying when he says he's not tired, Alex can see the dull, sleepy look in his expression that John tries to hide.

Clearing his throat again, Alex answers what they both already know he would say, "I'm good, I can stay up with you." Then, looking at his friends' shifting figures around him, he adds, "It looks like everyone's waking up, anyway." He clasps a hand on John's shoulder, and the freckled man almost falls under the pressure put on him.

Alex pulls his hand away, shocked at how easily John almost collapsed under the weight. John's eyes widen again in surprise of his own weakness, which quickly fades into anger. Noticing this, Alex decides not to acknowledge it, instead offering gently, "You can go to sleep. We promise we won't leave you."

John looks hesitantly at the ground, but finally gives in when Alex glares at him and refuses to look away. "Y'all better not leave," he mutters, shifting to lie down on the ground.

Smiling, Alex pats his arm lightly and promises again, "We won't, now get some rest already." John only mumbles something incoherently in response, then goes silent as his breathing starts to slowly even out. By the time John's fully asleep, most of the others are awake, including Thomas.

Alex doesn't really know what to make of last night. Thomas had followed him, for what reason? He didn't outright say it, but he implied that he wanted to make sure Alex was okay. Recalling everything they said last night, he remembers Thomas even asked if he had a nightmare. Alex finds himself wondering what he would have said if he lied and told him he did. Pushing that curiosity away, he also chuckles out loud when he remembers how defensive Thomas got when he asked if he wanted to be an astronaut when he was a kid. He's gonna _have_ to give him shit for that the next time he talks to him.

Standing up and stretching out his arms, he says, "Morning, everyone," to those who are still waking up. He hears a few responding greetings, but none are from Thomas. Letting down his arms so he can have a view of his rival, he sees the man watching him with an unreadable expression. His eyes are narrowed, but he doesn't seem mad. Alex assumes that he's probably just tired, or maybe he's thinking about their conversation last night.

There seems to be some kind of lingering feeling between them, but Alex guesses it might be best for him to not think too hard on what it means. He can clearly remember their hands intertwined with each other and how he wishes for more of that touch, but he can't figure out _why_ he wants him so badly suddenly. _The trauma must be messing with my head_ , he decides.

Then, realizing that he's still looking in Thomas's direction and practically staring at him, he forces his feet to move and walk over to him. Thomas lifts an eyebrow at him as he plops down in slight surprise, which shifts to concern when Alex groans in pain. Rubbing a hand on his scalp, he remembers then that he has to be aware of how careful he's being.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asks with a frown, looking at the hand that Alex has protecting his head. Alex pauses at the genuine, curious worry in his voice, giving him a strange look.

"Since when did you care, space freak?" Alex asks, a smile pulling at his mouth despite the throbbing, agonizing feeling in his head. He bites the inside of his mouth in hopes of covering up any visibility of his pain.

Thomas rolls his eyes, clearly not buying it. "You were the one who sat next to me and started acting weird, dumbass, obviously I'm not just gonna ignore it. What's wrong?"

Gritting his teeth, Alex almost feels annoyed at his concern, but at the same time... There's something nice in knowing that Thomas is worried, and _damn_ , isn't that a strange thing? Shaking away that thought, he responds with the cold emotions he only knows how to with Thomas, "Nothing, just thought I'd come over to annoy you a bit."

"Lying won't make you feel better, Hamilton," Thomas says, rolling his eyes again.

"I'm not lying," Alexander bites back.

"Sure you aren't. You're also not short, and your opinions about this country are _fantastic_ , by far the most intelligent things that I've ever heard."

Alex groans in both exasperation and misery as his headache grows worse. Even though he was heading for an argument by coming over to Thomas in the first place, he's still tired and his head hurts. He can't pick a good fight when he isn't feeling well, but if Thomas is gonna act like a jackass, well. He can damn well defend himself.

"Oh, the almighty Thomas Jefferson says I'm not short and admits my opinions are better than his?" Alex asks in feigned shock, hoping his voice sounds steadier to Thomas than it does to him. "You heard it here first, folks!"

"Shut up," Thomas says with a small laugh, "I never said your opinions were better, you sarcastic shit." He scans his eyes over Alex's body, and Alex feels his face heat up from the sharp scrutiny. He starts to shy away from the attention, about to ask why he's staring so much, but Thomas says with a smirk, "You seriously _are_ super short, though. Bet I could give easily you a piggyback ride."

"Oh, _god_ , they're flirting with each other," Angelica's voice cuts in. Alex whips his head in her direction, seeing her, Sam, and Eliza watching them. Angelica's watching with a raised eyebrow and amused grin, Sam's snickering into his hands, and Eliza is smiling, but Alex can tell it's strained, shaky, and it falls quickly. Looking closer, he can see sweat beading on her temples, and pain is visible in her eyes.

"Eliza," he begins slowly, "you feeling okay?"

Almost a response itself, she begins coughing harshly, curling in on herself. Angelica and Sam automatically turn to her, eyes searching her own with fear. "She'll be okay," Angelica says, reaching for Eliza's hand and rubbing small circles over her palm, "won't you, 'Liza?"

Eliza coughs once more, but manages another small smile. "Yep," she tries to assure them. It doesn't work, but she struggles on, looking between Thomas and Alex with amusement. "Seriously, though, you guys are adorable. Please continue." Her voice goes up higher at the end, and she bites down on her lip as she tries to refrain from coughing again.

Thomas tenses up, and he looks to the ground to hide his face. Alex feels his own face grow hotter as he stares indignantly at her. His embarrassment melts away into deeper concern when she can't get herself back under control.

"I brought what medicine I could find in the cupboards at the cabin," Sam says suddenly, standing up. "I'll try to find you something to make you feel better, okay?" Eliza and Angelica nod, the older Schuyler sister still sitting protectively next to the younger.

As they become silent, Alex finally notices the others talking around him. He looks around to see Maria speaking softly to Washington, and Lafayette whispering with Hercules, casting a few glances in Eliza's direction. Burr and John seem to still be sleeping. Alex keeps his attention focused on Maria and Washington, feeling interested in whatever was happening with her since yesterday when she refused to eat. Washington still appears to be concerned, and Maria offers him a small smile, but she shakes her head.

"You never answered my question," Thomas says suddenly, drawing Alexander's attention back to him. He finds himself staring straight at him, and to Alex, his eyes seem... _kind_ , almost, like he's actually concerned about him. Alex doesn't know what to make of that either, and if it were possible for his face to get even redder, he wonders how he would have looked.

Thomas goes from worried to confused, tilting his head slightly when Alex doesn't answer his statement. For a second, Alex feels a new flare of heat travel up his face, making him feel worse as he continues staring at Thomas. His puzzled expression is so _adorable_ \--

"Earth to Alex," Thomas cuts into his thoughts, throwing off the growing desire in Alex's mind as he snaps his fingers in front of his eyes. Alex can hear approaching footsteps as Sam comes back to them while Thomas speaks, "I asked you what was wrong earlier, remember? You still never said what."

"Ugh," Alex sighs irritably. "Can't you guess? You always try to say you're smarter than me, I'd think you could figure it out."

"Yes," Thomas agrees, "but I just want you to tell me yourself."

Sighing, Alex hides his head in his hands as he listens to Sam talk to Angelica about the medicine he grabbed for Eliza. "You are insufferable," he groans, not feeling like saying anything else. He stays like that, hidden behind his hands until he hears the sound of a lid popping open, followed by the swirling of pills inside a small container. 

He lifts his head to watch Eliza as she holds out a trembling hand, a few generic white pills spilling into her grip. She grabs onto her wrist with her other hand in an attempt to steady herself, but it takes both Angelica and Sam to help her. Alex doesn't want to just stand by and do nothing for her, so he shuffles next to them and puts a hand on Eliza's back to keep her upright.

"Th-Thanks," Eliza says shakily, gulping down the pills quickly and sighing. A violent shiver rocks her body as they go down her throat, and after a minute goes by, she still doesn't calm down. She wipes at the sweat on her brow with a still-trembling hand and looks ready to burst into tears, but ever the fighter, Eliza refuses to let her weakness show too much.

Angelica rubs circles into Eliza's shoulders, sharing a worried look with Sam. They both look back at Eliza's frail figure with such helplessness, and Alex has no idea how to react, or what to say.

He wishes now more than ever that he could find his palette of words for them. He knows that with it, he could grab a brush and paint paragraphs of reassurance in an attempt to shield them from a grim reality. However, even with it, he knows there is no canvas in which he could use that could hide Eliza's sickness behind pretty pastel comments of consolation, or bright splashes of paint that drip with optimism.

He's standing up before he even realizes it, muttering some random excuse on autopilot as he heads in the direction of the stream. He hears a person call out for him, followed by another standing up. Given by the sound of footsteps growing louder, he knows someone's following him, and it doesn't take a lot to guess who it is.

"Just can't let me be alone, can you?" Alex mutters in annoyance, not pausing in his walking as he heads downstream. He has a small flashback to his thoughts about Thomas, and feels slightly cold just from his nerves. _Nothing bad will happen_ , he races to assure himself. _I'll be fine, I'll be fine..._

Thomas finally catches up to his side, giving him an irritated glare. "Your friend is sick, and you just get up and walk away?" he asks, disgust in his voice. "Did you even see Eliza's face? She looked worried about you, and she shouldn't even be worrying about anything right now. Angelica and Sam looked like they were about to go after you, you really pissed them off."

"You should've let them," Alex snaps back, turning his head to meet Jefferson's glare. Shame coils deep in his gut, but he won't let the man see how bad he feels for leaving so abruptly. Eliza's a sweet girl, of _course_ she'd be worried about him, even when she was sick. He'll have to apologize when he gets back, but he doesn't think he can handle seeing her so broken right now.

"No, I shouldn't have," Thomas responds. His tone is calm, but in the smoothness he can hear the anger and annoyance. "Eliza needs Angelica and Sam right now, the poor girl looked like she was about to pass out. I already chased after you last night when you left the camp without another person, I think I can do it again."

"Would you stop treating me like a child?" Alexander growls in exasperation. He feels himself start to walk faster as his frustration builds up, but he doesn't slow down. "I can handle myself out here."

" _None_ of us could handle ourselves out here." Thomas forces himself to move faster to stay caught up with Alex. "Why do you think I'm going through so much trouble to make sure you don't get hurt by yourself?"

"I just thought you were kind of obsessed with me." Alex begins to jog, eyes narrowed and staring ahead at nothing in particular as he tries to get farther away from Thomas. The leaves and sticks crunch loudly under his shoes as he moves, and he hears the same sound following after him as Thomas stays at Alexander's pace. He doesn't even care that he's starting to tread on a line he had thought he would try to avoid, he just wants to be _alone._

"Do you always act egotistical to cover up how you're feeling?" Thomas sneers in response, jogging fast enough to race ahead at Alex's side. He doesn't seem to be bothered much by the exercise, although that doesn't surprise Alex, the asshole probably went to the gym on the daily before all of this chaos happened. Alex, on the other hand, isn't fairing so well, his headache making him feel a lot worse than he would be feeling if he just slowed down, but Jefferson's taunt only made him angrier, and he begins to speed up.

"You should really learn to mind your own business," Alex says, hoping his voice doesn't reveal how tired he truly is. His brain feels like it's banging against his skull with every stride, and he's only running faster as his anger grows, but he doesn't stop. The pain is getting worse, and he _really_ wishes that he asked Sam if he had any medicine for his head, but he chooses to regret that later.

" _You_ should really learn to let someone help you." Thomas doesn't seem to realize the effect that statement has on Alex until he finally stops, his feet sliding against the grass for a moment as he stares blankly at the ground. Thomas stops running too, halting about a foot away from Alex as he looks in confusion, waiting for the man to speak.

Alex almost starts shaking his head, but even at the slightest of movement, his temples begins to pulse painfully. Summoning what willpower he has, he manages to keep his arms at his side as he forces himself to lift his eyes to Thomas. He still looks puzzled, almost worried, but he stays patiently silent. The concern in his eyes makes Alex's heart skip a beat, but he makes himself take a deep breath and force a chill to come over his emotions.

"I don't need anyone's help," Alexander says darkly, "let alone _your_ help. Why do you even care all of the sudden? You would have gladly tossed me aside a few weeks ago without a second thought. I didn't even think you'd put so much effort as to even speak to me when we got out of that basement--" He takes a deep breath when the throbbing inside of his head becomes almost too much, shutting his eyes and trying to force it down. He knows that he should stop speaking anyways, he would've continued rambling if he hadn't stopped himself.

There's nothing said for another few seconds, the only sound being the sounds of the forest around them, along with the flowing stream. The noises around them only seem to close in on Alex, but before it can get too overwhelming, he feels a hand on his back, holding him upright. Eyes widening in surprise, Alex finds himself only a couple inches away from Thomas's face. His own face begins to heat up, and he hopes that Thomas doesn't see how much their closeness is affecting him. _Jesus Christ, what the hell is wrong with me?_ he thinks frantically.

"You sure you don't need help?" Thomas murmurs, looking down at Alex's feet. Alex follows his eyes, and he realizes that he had almost fallen into the river. His heels dig into the riverbank, almost stepping into the rushing water. He almost thinks he can feel the blush in his cheeks darken, but thankfully, Thomas doesn't acknowledge it. He helps Alexander steady himself, walking away from the water and onto the dry land. Alex knows that he should thank him, but he can't get the words out. He's too caught up in his conflicting emotions, watching Thomas watch him curiously.

Seeing Alex isn't going to speak, he sighs and sits down. "Honestly, Alex," he begins, lying down on his back, "you don't have to be alone in this, y'know. We're all going through this, we should all help each other."

Hesitantly, Alex finally gave in and decided to sit next to Thomas. He still isn't entirely sure how to go about this kind of game they've started, so he goes again with the only cards he knows how to work with, "Why are you so hellbent on helping _me_? Why not Eliza, Maria, or Washington? Maybe even Sam? What do you want with me?"

Thomas takes his time to formulate a response, so Alexander lies down on his back as well. He gets a brief moment of relief by resting his head, but of course, that can't last long. He's almost tempted to tune out Thomas, he's done it plenty of times before, but he's genuinely curious about what he has to say.

"Because I know your friends will try, but you're too good at brushing them off," Thomas says. "I'm the only one who'll fight against you, and you know that. You're just mad that someone is finally not taking your bullshit excuses."

Alex huffs, but doesn't say anything in response. Thomas is partially right in saying that he's mad that he's not just accepting his excuses, Alex knows that. He's finding it hard to believe that Thomas is doing this just because he'll put up a fight, though. He gets lost in thinking what it means, and almost bursts out in laughter when he considers that he was right in thinking Thomas might actually care about him. He shakes his head carefully at himself, deciding to burn that thought before he can make it grow any further.

It's no use. In the ashes of his mind, the thought still whirls, begging to be acknowledged. Alex stubbornly tries to resist against it, but he can't help wondering if Thomas really _does_ care about what happened to him. It's a strange thought, but the more he indulges in it, the less weird it seems to be. If it turned out Thomas was less of a dick than Alex thought, he finds that he wouldn't be able to complain.

Neither of them speak for a few minutes. Alex can feel how close they are with his arm brushing against Thomas, but he doesn't feel like moving. He almost wants to turn around to face Thomas directly, but he also doesn't want to make this peaceful quiet turn into something awkward. His thoughts are a hurricane, and he starts to get uncomfortable, even though there isn't anything being said. His own thoughts are bothering him, and he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to go back yet. He doesn't want to leave yet, either...

"You're acting really quiet," Thomas observes, and they're close enough that Alex can hear the shift as he tilts his head to look at him. "Something's definitely wrong."

Alex only shrugs. He could make an excuse, saying it was about Eliza. It wouldn't be a lie anyways, the overwhelming situation is what made him leave in the first place. In this moment, though, he's quiet for an entirely different reason, and he doesn't want to tell Thomas what that reason is. Instead, he goes for simply stating, "We weren't even gone for a day, were we?"

Thomas hums sadly in confirmation, knowing immediately what he's asking. "We really picked a bad place of the woods to go to, didn't we?" he says with a bitter chuckle. Alex looks over to meet his suddenly stormy eyes as he mutters, "We shouldn't have come here. Now we'll never get out."

"We _will_ get out of here." Alex's voice hardens with his words, and he doesn't know why he feels so desperate to convince him that they'll be fine, but he feels like he _has_ to. In a way, he supposes he's maybe also trying to convince himself, but it's much easier to talk to Thomas as if he's the only one who needs to be reassured.

Thomas sighs, but doesn't speak. Alex can guess that he might want to argue with him on it, but he doesn't want to get into it. Alex doesn't want to either, enjoying this oddly calm lull that's settled over them. He allows himself to try and relax on the ground, ignoring the fact that he feels disgusting in his old clothes and that he hasn't eaten a proper meal in weeks. For now, the quiet is all that he really needs right now.

In the time on the ground, Alex seems to only shift closer to Thomas. He isn't sure how that happens, but soon, he's turned onto his side and facing him. His eyelids feel heavy, and he almost feels like he could fall asleep like that. He forces himself to stay awake, though, watching Thomas through his tired expression and feeling himself fall deeper into the pit of his confusing thoughts. Thomas only somehow seems to get more beautiful the longer he looks.

"You're staring, Alexander," Thomas says quietly, but he doesn't make a move to get closer or shift away.

Alex hums in agreement, but he doesn't look away. Thomas meets his eyes, and his mouth curls into a small smirk. Alex automatically begins to scowl on instinct at his arrogant personality, but Thomas leans forward and cuts off the annoyance as he captures his lips in a kiss.

Eyes widening in surprise, Alex goes to push him away. He doesn't know why he didn't expect that, but the kiss caught him off guard, and he's disappointed when Thomas pulls away. Thomas looks just as dissatisfied as he is when he moves away, and Alex quickly moves to grab him by his shirt and pull him in for another kiss. It's not as great as Alex had hoped it would be, but when he realizes that, he wonders when he began to hope for it in the first place.

Alexander wonders if Thomas is thinking the same thing, but if he is, he gives no sign of it. He sits up and Alex follows him, managing not to break the kiss. He's worried about what will happen when they'll be forced to break apart, but he forces himself not to think about it yet. He just allows Thomas to place his hands on either side of Alex, hovering over him and deepening the kiss. Heat pulses through his body, and Alex arches his back as Thomas slowly glides his hands down his sides. Alex hasn't had such intimate contact for so long, and now he feels completely surrounded and overwhelmed by how gentle Thomas is being, and he's hardly even done anything yet.

"Alex," Thomas murmurs softly, moving his lips to suck at his neck. Alex doesn't want to test how far the forest can echo sound, not knowing just how far away he is from the others, but he allows himself a soft whimper at the sound of his name. Warmth travels down to his crotch, and he bucks up at a particularly harsh nip. The friction he gets as his cock brushes against Thomas forces a groan out of him, and it takes a lot for him to keep his hips still as Thomas continues mouthing downwards, biting and licking at Alex's skin. He sits upwards when he gets to Alex's shirt, and he looks to be considering just ripping it off of him, but he doesn't.

Startling at hands grabbing at his hips and desperately pulling at his belt, Alex lets out a quiet sigh as he settles back down. The earth around him pokes uncomfortably in his back, but he doesn't focus on that as he feels Thomas's hands pull his jeans down and lightly tug at his briefs.

"You okay, Alex?" Thomas asks suddenly, his hands stilling on his hipbones. Alex wants to lift his head and ask why he stopped, but then he feels his body shaking harshly against Thomas's fingers. He swallows and tries to calm himself down, nodding quickly and muttering a confirmation. Thomas still doesn't look sure, and Alex is tired of waiting, so he reaches for his hand and holds it tightly, as if it'll anchor him down and keep him calm.

"I'm fine," he assures him, biting down on his lip in an attempt to soften a moan as Thomas brushes his hand gently over the light fabric. "Just nervous, I suppose." It takes a lot for him to admit that, but he doesn't want Thomas to stop if he feels like he's pushing Alex too far.

Thomas, encouraged by the quiet noise Alex made as he touched him, pulls down the briefs. The cool air against his heated skin almost makes him wince, but Thomas quickly licks a stripe on his hand and brings his palm to the base of his cock. Alex cries out at the touch, but the sound is swallowed by Thomas as he brings him into a rough kiss. He begins to stroke him lightly, too gentle to be satisfying enough. Alex makes a noise of complaint, moving his hips up into his fist in hopes of getting better friction, but Thomas only smirks in amusement and removes his hand.

Alex automatically hisses in annoyance. Opening his eyes and about to demand angrily what he's doing, he pauses as he sees Thomas move downward and lower his head. Breath hitching when Thomas winks, he grasps at the man's coiled hair as he opens his mouth and dips his head.

He's enveloped in warmth and wetness within seconds, and Alex has no time to feel self-conscious as Thomas bobs his head. Alex would _love_ to see his face, and he lifts himself up onto his elbows to stare at him, but his head falls back as he bucks harshly. The sight of Thomas, flushed with his thick lips wrapped around his cock, is too much. Alex worries that if he looks for too long, it'll be over soon, but as Thomas continues guiding his tongue in patterns around him, he can't find himself to care how long he lasts.

It feels like he's swimming in heaven, a beautiful kind of feeling clouding around him as his pleasure starts to grow. Alexander begins whispering praises and begging for Thomas to go faster, to take him closer and closer to the edge. He feels his cock leaking profusely as he feels himself getting closer, but that doesn't deter Thomas. He only hums around him, pleased by Alex's reactions, and brings his head up to swirl his tongue lightly around the tip.

" _Fuck_ ," Alex whimpers desperately, the hand in Thomas's hair clenching as he feels the heat in his stomach build up. His pelvis thrusts upward into the warmth of his mouth, chasing the high he knows is about to greet him as he tips over the edge. He's vaguely aware of Thomas groaning around him, the vibrations causing his dick to throb wildly. He can't control the noises that are flying out of his mouth anymore, and he hopes that he's being quieter than he feels he really is. Thomas doesn't seem to mind, in fact, he goes faster, bobbing up and down and guiding Alex's spit-slicked cock deeper into his throat.

Then, much sooner than he would have liked, it's over. He's washed over with a blissful wave of white, and he greets the haze that entirely submerses him. He feels himself thrashing with a soft whimper, but the warmth never leaves him. Not until he begins to get too overwhelmed with sensitivity, and finally, the heat disappears.

Alexander loses track of his awareness in the next few minutes. He hears a few things in the back of his mind, like footsteps and the sound of the flowing stream. He's slightly concerned that Thomas left him, but when he comes back to himself, Thomas is gently tucking him back into his pants. Alex fully opens his eyes, about to offer to get Thomas off, but he feels his face heat up as he looks down at him and realizes he isn't hard. A stab of anxiety that he wasn't good enough for him rushes through his mind, but before he can let his thoughts get worse, Thomas moves to sit back over him and roughly kiss his jawline.

"Don't look so worried, Alex," Thomas whispers, as if he read his thoughts, "I took care of myself."

That only makes Alex's face grow warmer, but he feels a grin form on his face. "Did I make you come in your pants?" Alex asks teasingly, earning a swat from Thomas.

" _No_ ," Thomas replies defensively. He starts kissing at Alex's neck again, whispering lowly, "You were really fucking hot, though. I don't know why we never did this sooner."

Alex hums in agreement, allowing Thomas to nip and mouth at his neck for awhile longer. He only pushes him off when he realizes how long they've been gone, and he stands quickly on wobbly legs. He would have fallen back down if it weren't for Thomas, and he remembers with annoyance that that's the second time Thomas had to help him. 

"We better get going," Alex says, disappointment that they have to go back. He knows their friends will only get worried about them if they don't show up soon, though, and Thomas nods in agreement.

"Guess we should," he mumbles. Alex watches as he turns away and begins the walk upstream, and he's hit with a sudden fear. _Is he gonna pretend that nothing happened?_ he thinks as he hurries to catch up with him. He sneaks a few glances in the man's direction, but Thomas only stares ahead without looking at him. Pretending that his seemingly emotionless state doesn't bother him, he stares ahead as well and doesn't look back to him until he can hear his friends' voices growing louder.

 _It's probably for the best,_ Alex thinks bitterly, trying to ice his heart over to keep himself from feeling hurt. _Thomas never liked me in the first place, why would this change anything?_ Still, there's something inside of him that hopes Thomas will grab his hand and lead him back to their friends himself, maybe even kiss him again. Or at least meet his damn eyes.

Regardless of his hoping, Thomas does nothing. He walks ahead of him into their makeshift camp, and Alex can only follow after him with a lingering feeling of sadness. He snuffs out that feeling quickly, though, and mentally prepares himself as he walks into view of his friends. He smooths his hair back and keeps his head lowered to the ground, hoping that he doesn't look too disheveled.

He walks over to Angelica and Sam, who are still sitting next to Eliza. Angelica's hand is smoothing Eliza's hair back and she hums a soft tune, only acknowledging Alexander with a small nod. To his happiness, she doesn't seem angry at him, and neither does Sam. He offers Alexander a smile as he sits next to him, and Alex tries to smile back, but he must fail as Sam's expression shifts from a happy greeting to concern.

"Is something wrong, Alexander?" the small man asks. His scar wrinkles with the worried lines on his face, and Alex can't bear to look at him as his eyes analyze him. He worries irrationally that Sam somehow knows what happened, and he can't take the judgement he imagines is wavering off of him.

Alex purposely makes sure he doesn't look in Jefferson's direction. He wonders if Thomas is just as plagued by these thoughts, but he doubts it. Battling with his confusing thoughts, he mumbles, "No, it's nothing."

Sam doesn't look convinced, but thankfully, he doesn't press on the issue. He only goes back to looking at Eliza, and watching her as her chest lifts lightly with every breath she takes, he feels himself worrying for a whole other reason. With his mind a confusing storm of emotion, he sits back on his ankles and listens to Angelica's soft singing, willing his thoughts to flow away with the gentle melody of her voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AWWWW YIS GET SOME @TOMMY AND ALEX IM PROUD OF U BOTH
> 
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> 
> wow, i actually uploaded on a saturday !! and i'm only.. *looks at calender* two weeks late !!
> 
> ..yo i'm seriously so so sorry. my life and mental state is a bit hectic right now haha. but on a good note, i'm writing a collab with hamilfayette called toxic! read it [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8077735/chapters/18509317)!! (it has a few sensitive topics in it, so please read the summary for tw! stay safe!!)
> 
> also this is a looooooong overdue shoutout, but my friend and beta for this story made a lams fic called milkshakes in central park !! if you like lams you should read it, it's really cute ^.^ read that one [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7789189)!! (it's her first fic on ao3, so please be nice to her !! :3)
> 
>  
> 
> yo seriously though y'all i'm really fucking sorry this took forever to update, please be patient with me. i'm not always comfortable writing smut, which is partly why this chapter took so long (i'm so bad at writing it oh my god i am so sorry). next chapter will hopefully be easier to write so i can get it up sooner.
> 
> i'll stop rambling now. thanks for reading all this and putting up with me haha.


	9. Chapter 9

_the night grows dark_  
_the body wants to rest_  
_it hurts to breathe_  
_and still they do their best_

 

The next few nights pass without much happening, but to Alex, Eliza's only getting worse. The medicine Sam's trying to give to her isn't helping, and she seems to become more miserable as every hour passes. He's made sure to make up for when he ran off by constantly staying at Eliza's side, and she seems to appreciate it, although she doesn't often stay awake for too long. Even so, he'll still hold her hand and help her calm down when she wakes up in excruciating pain. It breaks his heart, but there's nothing he can do except hope for the best.

Alexander himself has managed to dull his own headache by staying put at camp and resting, as well as taking a few pills at Angelica and Eliza's insistence when they begin to notice his visible discomfort. He had felt bad, feeling like he was taking medicine away from Eliza, but they both practically tried to force him when he tried to deny their offer. Now that his headache isn't so awful and he's being forced to rest, he's glad that he accepted the medicine.

They also made a decision in that time, and that was to stay put at their camp. They have no idea how far they are from civilization, and Washington thought that it would be too risky for them to try and test their distance. They figure that Peggy must have called for help by now, and if they move around too much, they'll probably miss the help that must be coming for them.

It drives Alex crazy, just sitting around and waiting. Even though he hates it, he doesn't know what else he can do _except_ wait, so he sits as patiently as he can through every passing day.

Alex is sitting by his normal spot that he claimed unannounced, underneath a tall tree. He's toying with a small stick in the ground, hearing but not really listening his friends converse around him. Then, finally, after endless hours of his own boring silence that's filled with nothing but his own thoughts, John speaks up, announcing boldly, "We're going hunting."

His words spark an automatic reaction within the group, including Alex. Unable to stop himself, he exclaims, "Are you fucking insane?" He whips his head in the direction of his friend, regretting it slightly when it locks itself in pain, but still not shaking off the surprise of John's announcement. He sees him sitting with Lafayette and Hercules, and they all look like they had been planning it for awhile.

For a little bit, there's nothing other than the quiet breeze of the forest to make up for the lack of words from anyone else. Then, before the silence can become too awkward, Hercules speaks up, "We're running low on our supplies, and we'll need to eat something other than berries and leaves if we want to survive here."

"And we'll all be together, so we have a better chance at getting something," Lafayette adds, looking around at the others, as if asking silently for their approval.

"You have no idea what's in these woods, John," Washington says, "you could get hurt, or lost."

Alex felt a bit confused as to why Washington addressed him specifically, but as he looks back at him, he sees now that Washington spoke to him because of the defensive glare he's wearing. He tilts his chin up, almost as if challenging him.

"I don't wanna sit around all day and wait to die," John says. His tone somewhat surprises Alex, although he knows it's not something that should. They've been stuck in one place for so long, it's not unnatural for John, Herc, and Laf to want to do something other than wait for help.

"You're upsetting Eliza," Sam says softly.

That's enough to make them shut up, as they turn their eyes to the small woman cradled in Angelica's arms. Her eyebrows are furrowed in pain, and she looks absolutely miserable. Sam sits on the other side of her, brushing a gentle hand over her face to wipe away the sweat gathering on her forehead.

They sit in quiet guilt for a few minutes, but of course, that doesn't last for long, either. "Washington's right, guys," Thomas says, and his voice makes Alex's heart stop for a moment, "you're better off just--"

"We can give whatever we find to Eliza," Lafayette says, standing up with a new look of determination. John and Herc stand up next to him, and they all look at Washington pleadingly.

"If you won't let us go for us, can we at least go for Eliza?" Hercules asks. He twists his hands together nervously, and he keeps casting looks in Eliza's direction.

"Seriously, you don't--" Thomas starts, but is cut off by Washington holding up a hand.

The older man looks to be thinking about it, then eventually says, "If you go hunting, please stay close to camp. Stick to the river only, don't try going off into the woods."

Their eyes light up, although John still looks disappointed. They've caught fish in the river a few times before so they wouldn't have to use too many of their food supplies, and Alex knows everyone's been needing more than the small rations of food. Still, they don't argue with Washington, and they grab what they need.

John pulls out a small knife from the backpack, and he twists it around in his hand. "Coming?" he asks, the question clearly directed at Alex.

Feeling the pressure from his friends, he knows he probably should go with, just in case something happens. He's very well aware that he isn't the most rational, but he would hate to sit back at camp while his friends are going off by themselves. He knows John, and he's certain that it'll only take a few minutes for him to disobey Washington's request.

He's leaning toward the option of leaving, but then he hears a small cough from Eliza. She lifts her head slightly to look at Alex, and he feels his confidence begin to waver. _I can't just leave her like this_ , he thinks, his fists clenching as he struggles with the decision. Then, Alex feels a separate pair of eyes on him, and he doesn't have to turn to know who's watching him. He still looks out of the corner of his eye, but then brings his gaze back to Eliza when he sees Thomas struggling with not speaking up to him.

Luckily, Alexander doesn't have to make up his own mind, as John notices the look he wears. He sighs, but he gives Alex a look of understanding. "We'll be back, then," he says, waving Lafayette and Hercules in his direction. The three then set off north down the river, not looking behind them as they walk on. 

Thomas watches them with a snort of disbelief, then turns away and meets Alex's eyes. He appears to be relieved that Alex didn't go, and he looks like he wants to say something, but Alex doesn't give him the opportunity. Instead, he walks straight over to Eliza and sits down next to Sam.

His heart pounds as he thinks of Thomas. He never would've believed at the beginning of all of this that he would think of him as anything more than his enemy, but everything has changed them. It's changed _him_. Alex had tried not to think too hard about the last time they were together, but he can't help wondering if Thomas regretted it. He hasn't attempted to make conversation with Alex since then, but to be fair, Alexander really hasn't, either.

When Alex comes back to himself, he realizes that Sam and Angelica are watching him with a look of concern. Feeling slightly embarrassed that he let his emotions show too much on his face, he looks away so he doesn't have to meet their eyes. He feels a hand on his shoulder, then turns back to see Sam giving him a humorless smile. "I know," he tells him, dropping his hand when he has Alex's attention. "I'm worried about her, too."

Alexander feels guilt shoot through his veins when he thinks to himself, _that's not what I was worried about_ , but he decides not to share it with them. He's been extremely worried about Eliza though, so it's not like it's entirely a lie.

Observing the younger Schuyler sister now, he can tell she's slipped out of consciousness again. Her body is still wracked with shakes and pained breathing, and to his dismay, he can tell that the medicine hasn't been making a difference. Alexander knows that the worst is sure to come true, no matter how hard the others try to prevent it. He just wishes that her death wasn't so miserable for her.

"I don't know what to do," whispers Angelica, grabbing the attention of Alex and Sam. "I'm supposed to look after her and keep her safe. What did I do to deserve watching my little sister die a slow, terrible death?" She bites her lip and lowers her head, her tangled hair falling in front of her eyes. Alexander knows she must be trying to hold back the tears that want to come on, and while he wishes he had words that could make this better, Sam's already ahead of him in consoling her.

He leans against her shoulder with a quiet sigh. "There's nothing here that could make this any better," he says sadly. "All we can do is be here for Eliza and make sure she doesn't suffer this alone." Angelica nods as he speaks, not bothering to fight or argue against his words. She accepts the comfort of his presence, leaning back against him while holding Eliza's hand in a gentle grip.

Alexander wonders when they had become so close. He figures that Angelica must've been an easy person to talk to, especially since she knows who he is from his missing person case. Once again, he feels bad that he wasn't there to see them bonding and maybe help ease Sam into life among other people. Instead, he was so selfishly caught up in his own confusing emotions about a man who probably isn't even thinking about him right now.

With that thought in mind, Alex forces himself to not look up to see if said man is looking at him. Whether or not he was or wasn't, Alexander knew it would still hurt.

What the hell had gotten into him that night? Loneliness, selfishness, confusion? No matter what it was, Alexander felt like he needed to talk to him about it. He doesn't know how to go about talking to him, though. How would he even start that conversation?

Then, Alex feels like smashing his head against the tree, just to see if he could make his head hurt even worse. If he did that, he'd probably send himself into a damn coma, which he'd probably deserve. He needs to stop fucking thinking about Thomas, he's only going to drive himself crazy when he needs to be focusing on doing what he can for Eliza.

He sees now that she's just waking up again. Her body shifts slightly as she tries to look around, but at her own movement, she makes a whimpering noise of agony. Alex can see Sam straightening up, waiting to be helpful, while Angelica hushes her and eases her back into a comfortable position.

"You just relax now," Angelica says softly. Alexander knows how painful it is for her to be calm in this situation, and he admires her for how she's keeping her composure. "We're right here, we're all here by your side, Elizabeth."

To Alexander's surprise, she manages to get out a laugh, which is immediately followed by harsh coughing. They look at her in confusion, but she croaks quietly, "You haven't called me Elizabeth in years."

Angelica smiles, her tone filled with misery as she chuckles, "Yeah, that's right. Strange hearing it, isn't it?" Her voice cracks on those last few words, and she lifts her head away from her sister as she puts a hand over her mouth to silence the sobs that want to escape.

Eliza nods with a breathless laugh, then makes a sharp noise of agony. Alexander can't bear to watch, and he finds his gaze suddenly drawn to the dirt. "Poor girl," he hears Washington speak behind him. 

Not even realizing that the others had gathered around, he sees them, looking at Eliza with a terrible sadness. He can see that they all wish they had the power to end her suffering, and that itself is enough to make Alexander want to cry. He loves his friends more than anything else, and he doesn't want to lose any more of them. They all care so much, and they're going to fight to get out of here, he knows that. Regardless, there is nothing they can do for the helpless Elizabeth Schuyler as she lies in front of them, slowly fading away from them.

He wishes that his three closest friends were here. Their presence would be something extremely comforting.

Unable to help himself, he looks at the only other who wishes would try to ease his sadness. Thomas's eyes are cold, and he stares with emptiness at her. The only thing that gives away the fact that he feels any emotion at all are his fists, which are clenched tightly at his side, showing a slight shakiness to them. Now, Alexander wants to comfort _him_ , but his own stubbornness is preventing him from moving away from Sam and Eliza's side.

They all stay like that for awhile. Alexander knows that some time has passed, as the area around them has gotten much darker than what it was before. John, Lafayette, and Hercules have yet to return from their hunting trip. That worries Alexander, and he has half a mind to go after them to make sure they stuck to the stream, but he knows that John must've convinced them to stray a bit farther away from it. He hopes they at least have caught something that they can give to Eliza, even though it wouldn't make a difference. She still doesn't deserve to leave this world sick _and_ starving.

Most of them have returned to their respective areas, but Alexander refuses to leave Eliza. He just feels like he _has_ to be here, like if he was gone, something would happen. If Eliza were to pass away, he doesn't want to be away from her side as she leaves. Hell, he knows that she will pass away, there's no questioning to it. Although he knows, it doesn't erase the hurt that still fills his lungs like water. He doesn't want her to die. _Fuck_ , he doesn't want one of his closest friends to go. Not like this. _Eliza, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this_.

He thinks of all the times he had with her. All the little trips he's had with the Schuyler family all together, the little moments he had with them. It's not long until Alexander is openly sharing them, talking mostly to himself, but he's aware that Samuel and Angelica are listening as well. He finishes a story about the time they went climbing in the mountains, and how he used to think that the scariest thing in his life was when Eliza slipped and almost tumbled down steep rocks.

"If Philip hadn't managed to grab onto her rope just in time," Alexander finishes, naming the Schuylers' father, "I don't know what could've happened. Something bad, I'm sure."

"My dad didn't let Eliza go anywhere near the cliffs after that," Angelica tells Sam, her own memory of the trip just as fond as Alexander's. "I don't blame him, I didn't want her to go near them, either."

"That must've been very scary," Sam says in awe. Then, his expression changing to something sad, he says, "It's been years since I've been mountain climbing. I used to do it a lot with my family on our vacations, it was very fun. I carried my little sister up a steep hill one time, she was so scared that I was gonna drop her." He laughs at the thought, then quiets down.

Angelica looks at him with sympathy, moving one of her hands from Eliza to Sam. Gripping his hand, she says with a promise, "You're going to see them again, you hear? We didn't go through all of this suffering for nothing."

Samuel smiles at her determined voice, as does Alexander. It's almost easy to believe it when you hear another person say it with such confidence. Sam then continues with a much more serious tone, going into another topic, "I thought the same thing the last time I got out. I truly believed it then, too." His hand then moves up to cover the scar on his face, and he flinches, as if from a terrible memory. "I couldn't have been more wrong."

The three are quiet then for a second, none of them really knowing what to say. Alexander can't help his natural curiosity, though, and not even thinking about if he'll come off as rude, he asks, "What happened that time?"

Alex feels bad almost immediately for pressing such personal information, but luckily, Sam doesn't seem angered or upset with his question. He takes a deep breath, sighs, and says, "I had been taken with another friend of mine. We met a few others at that cabin, people who were just as determined as you guys are." The memories of them are clearly swimming through Sam's mind, and Alexander doesn't dare interrupt and allows him to take his time.

A few seconds pass, but as Sam seems to be trying to think of what to say, he simply shrugs. He pulls down his shirt and shows the full scar, which trails down to his collarbone. "Long story short, it didn't work out. We didn't think it out enough and we didn't have time to try to familiarize ourselves with where we were at, and we were found. The only reason I wasn't killed was because of George, but Lee got pretty close."

Alexander swallows, even though his throat is dry. _So it was Lee, then_. He can't imagine what that must've been like for Sam, and he can understand why he was so hesitant to help them at first. _He must not want to see anyone get hurt again_. His heart twists sadly for him, knowing that Sam would have to see it no matter what he did. He wonders what must've gone on in those two years, but he won't press Sam anymore than he already has, fearing now that bringing back the memories must be something traumatic for him.

"I'm sorry," a voice suddenly whispers, and Alexander looks down to see Eliza's eyes on Sam. She looks to be just barely awake, but she must've heard enough as she looks sincerely sorry for what he had to go through.

Sam smiles at her, saying quietly, "No need to apologize for the past. What's happened has happened, and I can't do anything about that."

Reaching out a weak hand, Eliza rests it on his knee. "I'm still sorry," she says, her strength visibly leaving her as her voice got more quiet as she spoke, and her hand falling to the ground as she's unable to keep it stable.

Alexander begins to fidget in place, not knowing what to do. He feels like he should be doing _something_ , but he has no clue what he could do to make this better. Exhaustion seems to be more prominent in her being than any actual pain, and he hopes that it'll stay like that. He would rather her be numb than in excruciating torment.

As his thoughts wander off on their own, Alexander begins to feel sleepy. He feels himself drifting in and out of consciousness, his body slightly rocking as he becomes unstable sitting upward. Eliza still comes in and out of her own sleep, but she stops speaking full words. She makes noises now, whether it be pained or exhausted. Alexander hopes that she'll hold on, just a little longer, and maybe a miracle will happen. A rescue team will come by, maybe, and they'll see Eliza off to the nearest hospital and make her all better.

It's not until a few minutes of fantasizing their rescue goes by, and Alexander has a passing thought about the trio that's left for hunting. They should've been back by nightfall, as they all know how dangerous these woods are when it's dark out. Even if they did have a flashlight with them, who knows what kind of animals would be awake at this hour.

Something dangerous, he's sure. Something hungry.

His eyes pop open, and he feels a feeling of nauseous worry. It fills up his senses entirely, and soon his mind is on full alert. He stands up too quickly, startling the tired Sam and Angelica as he stumbles backwards. Only God knows how he didn't fall on his back in his fear, but he begins to blindly whip his head around in a panic.

"Alexander?" Maria's voice speaks up in concern as she sees his actions. He feels the others' eyes on him, and then Angelica moving over to his side to grab his arm.

"Something's not right," he mutters, unable to shake the feeling that something is wrong, something is _very_ wrong. Angelica tries whispering to him to calm him down, and Alexander can see that he's worrying Thomas as well. While that should satisfy him, he can't take a moment to stop and process it. He's trying to process a whole different feeling, _fear_ , and he doesn't even know why. It's overwhelming him, and he feels like he's about to pass out just from exhausting his senses. Then he hears it.

A scream.

It's distant, it's so far away, yet Alexander knows it's human within the second of it alerting the entire woods. All he can think about is _John, Laf, Herc, John, Laf, Herc_ , and then he's sprinting for the trees.

He doesn't make it far, though. He finally stumbles and actually falls, and right as he's about to go after it again, Angelica has already caught up to him. "Don't you dare," she snaps, grabbing his arms and holding him in place. "We have no idea what caused that, we don't want to attract any attention to us."

"We can't just stay here and do nothing!" Maria says, speaking Alexander's mind before he can, standing up suddenly as the other group members begin to panic. More shrill screams sound from the same distance, and then they hear a loud, more booming _roar_. Alexander almost begins to cry in his fear. _Was John in that area?_

Alexander wasn't the only one who heard it, and suddenly everyone is thrown into a panic. "What if it finds us," Aaron groans in horror. "What if it finds us and we're all killed?"

The clearing is suddenly filled with noises of terror, when Washington steps up and whistles loud enough to call attention to himself before it gets out of control. "We can't act irrationally," he tells them firmly. "Whatever is over there is clearly dangerous. It sounds far away enough, but we can't risk it. We'll need to get out of here immediately."

"What about John?" Alexander demands. "Lafayette? Hercules? What if that was them? We can't just leave them!"

"There's no helping them if they're being attacked," Thomas says, walking over to Alexander and grabbing his arms. "We need to get out of here before we're all hurt."

Alexander notes how this is the first time they're actually speaking to each other since what happened, but he doesn't care, only pushing back and yelling in response, "That's no reason to leave them! Maybe we could set up a distraction and save them!" _I'm already losing Eliza, damn you, don't let me lose my three best friends too!_

Everyone begins yelling and arguing incoherently, and in the distance, the screaming still persists. It sounds so distressed, so _horrifying_ , and Alexander can't take it anymore. He tries to make another move for the dense trees when Thomas grabs onto him and stops him. He pulls him against his chest, and as much as Alexander would like to just stop it all and talk to him like nothing was wrong, he can't think about that right now. His friends could be getting attacked right now, and he can't just wait and argue while they're all dying.

That's when Angelica yells above their voices, screaming at them all, " _Stop!_ " until they all shut up and are looking at her.

"You're all making Eliza feel worse!" she snaps, standing protectively by her sister. Sure enough, Eliza is sitting there with wide eyes, clutching painfully onto her stomach as Sam tries to soothe her. Everyone, including Alexander, quiets down immediately. The screaming in the distance is still going, including the loud roar of what now sounds like a massive, _hungry_ bear. Fear quakes in his body, yet he somehow doesn't make another sound. Thomas still has a firm grip on him, but he doesn't bother fighting against it anymore.

Once she knows for sure they won't continue their panic, Angelica takes a deep breath to calm down and then says, "Look, I have an idea. I'll go out there and look for what caused the noises." She holds her hand out to Sam, who's had a flashlight by his side through everything. He knows that's what she wants, and he looks a bit nervous to be without it in the dark, but he still hands it over to her in understanding. Looking back to the group, she says, "I promise I'll be careful. I'll be back before the sun comes up."

"Wait, Angelica--" Alexander starts, pushing Thomas away to go up to stop her.

She turns to face him, and even in the dark, Alexander can see the emotion in her eyes, making him pause. He knows she's thinking about Eliza, and the stress of what's happening with nobody able to contain it is only going to make her situation worse. She just wants the best for her sister, even when there's no hope left for her. Alexander understands it, and then he offers, "I'll go with you, then."

Angelica immediately shakes her head. "It'll be easier if it's just one person so if one fucks up, nobody else will suffer for it," she tells him. Then, nodding to Sam and Eliza, she adds, "Someone needs to take care of them both for me, anyway." Alexander makes a move to offer to go instead of her so she can stay back with them, but then she's gone through the trees before anyone can stop her.

Then, it's all quiet. Angelica's footsteps fade away, the screaming has ceased, and the only thing they're able to hear now is the audible sound of Eliza's labored breathing.

Not wanting to let Angelica down, Alexander heads over to sit next to Eliza where Angelica had previously been. "It's okay, Betsey," he tells her, running his hand over her matted hair. "I'm here, Sam's here. All of us are here for you."

Eliza makes no indication that she heard his words. He can't even tell if she's awake or not anymore.

Instead of trying to offer comforting words, he continues telling more stories. He recalls the time that he had been awake for four full days, running only on coffee and the absolute need to get his paperwork done. He still had plenty of time to get it all finished, _months_ , even, but he was too insistent on getting it done within the week. The only reason he even got sleep that night was because she forcefully came and stopped him from working, dragging him with the help of John out of his office and locking him out. They promised to give him back the key when he got a full night's rest. He still only slept for 5 hours that night, but when he woke up, he found the key to his office on his desk with a bowl of dry cereal and a bottle of water.

He smiles wistfully, thinking of his old, somewhat domestic life. He was incredibly busy back then, of course, and he dreads to think of all the paperwork he'll have to make up, but he knows that he can get it done. His happy mood falls when he realizes that Eliza won't be there to stop him from overworking himself, though.

He wonders for a second if Thomas will be there instead. He can't help indulging in that thought, thinking about how Thomas could carry him from his desk to his bed. He could make him coffee in the morning, maybe some breakfast, and give him a little kiss before he went off to work.

Then, he remembers how cold Thomas has been acting toward him, and he thinks that he'll be lucky if he even _sees_ Thomas again once they're back to their own lives.

Lucky for him, Samuel doesn't seem to note on his silence, as he picked up his own story after Alexander had shut up. He begins speaking of his life before George and the other two, telling stories of his little sister when she was just a young girl. She would go with him to their town's local church every Sunday, and she would love to play the piano. 

He just gets into wondering if she still plays, and just as he sighs, the sound of racing footsteps approaches them quickly. Alexander's ears perk up to the sound, and Sam stops talking as soon as he hears it as well. Within the second, he can hear the sound of panicked breathing, and he feels the levels of fear rising up in his body. He knows it's Angelica before he even sees her, and he knows she must've seen something awful.

Sure enough, the woman bursts through the trees into the clearing. All eyes are on her as she stares back, eyes wide with tears streaming down her face. She opens her mouth, wanting to say something, but all she can get out is, "It's bad. It's _really_ bad."

This time, Thomas doesn't have a grip on him, and he can't stop him. Alexander sees that he wouldn't have anyways, as Thomas beats him to running right where Angelica had just came from. He sees Angelica collapse to the ground in tears, with Washington and Maria racing over to comfort her. He thinks he hears Washington yelling after him and Thomas, but neither of them stop at his voice. All they can do is run, heading towards the sight that's surely too terrifying for them to see. Still, they don't stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> ... *peeks out from corner* anyone still reading this?
> 
> hey guys, i'm really sorry for how late this is. i really don't have a good excuse, just that i got a random burst of motivation for this story again and wrote the majority of this chapter in three hours. i didn't have my beta read it before i uploaded it, i just read it myself, so i hope it's okay. correct me on any mistakes, i tried rereading a little bit through previous chapters, but i still might've missed something.
> 
> i don't know when the next chapter will be out, but i hope it won't be months again. (i promise i won't abandon it though! i'm going to finish this damn story no matter how long it takes)
> 
> also, sorry to any comments i haven't responded to. i read through them all though and i'm really happy you guys are still wanting more chapters. thank you all so much, and i hope this is good enough <3.


	10. Chapter 10

_they want to live_  
_no matter for how long_  
_their thoughts all disappeared_  
_'cause now they're pretty scared_  


Branches whip painfully into Alexander’s face, leaving marks and scratches on his cheeks. He feels the sharpness of the different types of leaves and bushes slap his leg, yet he doesn’t register anything other than them brushing up against him. It’s as if the forest is attempting to halt the adrenaline-pumped racing of his feet, but even nature isn’t enough to stop Alexander Hamilton from reaching his friends. He wants so desperately to listen for more, needing _some_ kind of indicator that John, Lafayette, and Hercules are still alive, but he hardly hears anything above the blood roaring through his ears as his head tries to split itself into two.

_____ _

The only thing he _does_ hear in the back of his mind is the fellow footsteps that accompany his own; small but fast, and could be thought of as insignificant, but right now, it’s the only thing that’s assuring Alex that he isn’t alone.

_____ _

The stream that the men were supposed to stick to provides a guide for them, but they’re also following a path of tiny footprints put into the soft ground by Angelica. Alex doesn’t know how long they go on for, but he doesn't care. He could run for hours if it meant saving the three brave, reckless men.

_____ _

A well of emotions begin to overwhelm him as he thinks of them. He wants so desperately to collapse and cry himself into a coma, which at this point seems much better than waiting to die in these endless miles of woods surrounding them. He can’t give up on them, though, _they_ would never give up on _him_.

_____ _

He should’ve gone with them. He could’ve protected them.

_____ _

They don’t speak as they run, but after what feels like an eternity, Thomas gasps and stops entirely. “Hamilton,” he says through heaving breaths, “we need to stop…”

_____ _

Alexander pauses for a brief moment, but glares in refusal at the other man. “ _No_ ,” he snarls, then breaks into another run. He hears Thomas say something desperately behind him, trying to make him stop, but his voice was already much too quiet in Alex’s mind to begin with. His body is still rushing with endorphins, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t put them to good use.

_____ _

As he pushes forward, following the direction of Angelica’s tracks, he thinks about his friends and everything he’s gone through with them. They were always so good to him, they cared so much about him, even before all of this happened… Alex had never known people who cared so sincerely and genuinely for him that only wanted his friendship in return. He feels a sharp needle pierce his heart when he realizes he never even thanked them for it.

_____ _

_Oh, God, please. Don’t let them be dead. They’re all I have._

_____ _

The tracks go on for what Alexander estimates as another mile, which he pushes through as fiercely as he can. His lungs are beginning to burn, and he’s feeling himself come down from the high he was on, but he refuses to stop until something about the tracks catch his eye.

_____ _

He’s gone about another half mile by now. The tracks that continue from where he’s paused have a peculiar look to them, and he feels his heart drop even further into his stomach. They look much more erratic, as if something had scared them, and that’s when he decides that he ought to slow down and be more careful.

_____ _

He walks carefully, listening for sounds the best that he can above his own agonizing pain. His senses feel too dulled down, and he stumbles for a second on the trail. His knees feel wobbly and numb from the strain he put on them, but before he can collapse on the ground, he reminds himself of his mission. He can’t stop now, he’s too close…

_____ _

He only makes it a few more steps until a wretched smell wafts over him.

_____ _

Alexander gags at the scent. He’s sure it’s not as strong as it could be if he were more attuned to his surroundings, but it’s still enough to make him lean over a tree and empty the contents of his stomach into the bushes. As he coughs and spits into the dirt, a memory comes over him from the basement of the same smell, right after the deaths of Theodosia and James.

_____ _

Thinking about what that meant made Alex vomit once more.

_____ _

He doesn't have time to think about that, though. If there’s any chance that at least one of them still lives, he has to reach them before they die. They still have some medicine at the camp, there’ll still be a chance that they’ll be okay. Wiping his mouth, he forces his exhausted legs into a sprint for however many more miles stretch ahead of him.

_____ _

Within minutes, the smell only grows stronger, and it gets to a point where Alexander doesn’t bother to keep track of the footprints. He continues on their path, however, but he’s long accepted what he knows is waiting for him before he can come to see it. Tears burst freely in his vision as the unmistakable stench begins to become the lead to his buddies.

_____ _

He decides once more to slow down to a walk, knowing that there’s something dangerous lurking in the woods. Alex is an irrational idiot and he would love nothing more than to burst out and reveal himself to the men and whatever’s harmed them, but he’s too exhausted to perform such a bold stunt, and he doesn’t want to cause more heartache to those back at their camp.

_____ _

Then, without warning, Alex’s eyes focus on something in front of him.

_____ _

There’s something on the ground, and it seems out of place. It looks strange to him at first, but as he leans down and examines the small object, he recognizes the hand unmistakably. He sucks in a deep breath and jumps away from it, horrified. Hope begins to drain slowly as he looks wildly around the area, wanting to call out their names but not wanting to draw attention to himself. He whispers a sharp, “ _John! Gil! Herc!_ ” as he hesitantly makes his way into the treeline.

_____ _

It doesn’t take more than a few mere seconds until he reaches them.

_____ _

Alex looks ahead at the gruesome sight. The smell of iron consumes his senses as he stares at the broken bodies of John and Lafayette. Gil faces away from Alexander, but he sees the sharp wounds that have torn his body apart from where he stands as a flow of red seeps into the ground around him. He doesn’t have to see his front to know he’s dead.

_____ _

John looks the worst, though. He lays crookedly on the ground, his head twisted at an unnatural angle. More than half of his face is drenched in his own blood, but even the deep color of red can’t mask his gray, ashen cheeks, eyes wide open in what Alexander would’ve known as fear had he been alive, but they stare ahead at nothing now, giving no emotion. His clothes are torn to shreds around him, his shirt’s original color unknown now underneath the soaked crimson.

_____ _

Alexander’s breathing stopped altogether, and it’s not until he takes a gasping breath that he realizes it. However, that does nothing to help him as he breaks down entirely, his knees giving in as a terrified, unearthly scream erupts from his throat.

_____ _

He was too late. He failed them, and now they’re dead.

_____ _

_Why am I so fucking awful?_

_____ _

He stares at the sight around him, then lets out another devastated scream. As he heaves dismayed breaths into his hands, he tries convincing himself that he’s only hallucinating. All of the mental trauma has finally gotten to his head, and soon he’ll be punched on the shoulder by his smiling companions as they tell him they got the food for Eliza, and she’ll be making a quick recovery any moment now.

_____ _

Yet, that doesn’t happen, and Alexander is stuck, staring at the two mangled bodies of the men that swore their friendship, loyalty, and love to him and his other buddies.

_____ _

“They only wanted to get food for their friends!” Alexander weakly tries to scream at nothing, but it comes out as nothing more than a hollow, exhausted breath. “ _Why them?! _”__

_____ _

__He sits there and weeps in front of John’s expressionless eyes for what feels like hours. It doesn’t matter if whatever did this to his best friends come for him. He has nothing left, anyways. He’s going to die in these woods, whether it be as violent as this or as agonizing as Eliza’s sickness right now. Sometime soon, very soon, he’s going to pass as well, and he’ll be all alone._ _

_____ _

____

_____ _

Then, a pair of arms wrap around him and force him to his feet. Alexander half-expects it to be the creature that killed his best friends, and he whirls around to fight to his death in their honor, but then a hand clasps around his mouth and hushes him.

_____ _

____

_____ _

“We need to leave,” Thomas whispers softly. His voice quivers as he speaks, and Alex decides not to argue with him when he hears it.

_____ _

____

_____ _

They walk at a brisk pace down the stream, needing to get back to the camp as soon as possible, but being too exhausted to make the run. Alexander trails beside Thomas, his eyes wide open and horrified as he replays the grisly scene in his mind over and over again. He knows Thomas must be just as shaken as him, but right now he welcomes the silence and slight embrace of Thomas’s tight grip around his waist to keep him upright.

_____ _

____

_____ _

The area around the stream begins to look more familiar as they walk down it, and as they near closer to their camp, loud sounds of distress greet them. Alexander wants so desperately to run, he has to get there and share the news of their losses with those back in the camp and have them be as consumed with grief as he is. He assumes they must already be crying about John, Gilbert, and Hercules-- _fuck, he couldn’t even find him_ \-- but as they silently enter the clearing, Alexander realizes what was upsetting them so much.

_____ _

____

_____ _

The group that stayed behind is in one big cluster, save for Washington, who has walked away and is leaning against his elbow on one of the trees, shaking uncontrollably. Alexander can see his expression from where he stands, and he looks as terrified as Alex feels. He doesn’t seem anything like the strong leader they left the cabin with.

_____ _

____

_____ _

“What…?” Thomas questions, clearly just as confused as Alexander was, but then it becomes obvious to him, too, what happened.

_____ _

____

_____ _

Samuel is the first to notice that they’re back, his head popping up from the cluster and staring at the two men as they stand as still as a statue on the outer edge of the clearing. His big eyes are streaming with tears, and he walks, trembling, in their direction. He fumbles with his hands for a good few seconds as he makes his way towards them, but Alex breaks from Thomas and meets him halfway there. His body is already wracked with grief for the loss of his friends, surely he can’t have lost Eliza in that short time, too…

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“S-She…” Sam starts, but crumbles into a blubbering mess as he tries to force the words out, but nothing can escape past the crushing sobs on his windpipe. Alexander rushes past him as he collapses on the ground and takes his place in the small cluster of people, looking down at the woman under everyone’s careful and frightened attention.

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Angelica is stroking her hair, her gaze hardened but her pupils betray her emotion as she stares down at Eliza’s body. Alexander lowers himself down, noticing that nobody has acknowledged his or Thomas’s return, but he isn’t bothered by that as he trains his attention on Eliza. She looks more peaceful now, _too_ peaceful. She almost appears to be asleep, but Alexander isn’t stupid. Her chest doesn’t rise to signal her soft breathing, and her cheeks are sunken in to show off the sickness she couldn’t fight.

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_Damn it, Eliza, I couldn’t be here for you, either?_

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Alexander knows she didn’t die alone, and that everyone saw her off into what was waiting for her in the afterlife with support and love. His heart twists with loving sadness as he knows that even while afflicted with tormenting pains that dragged her life so cruelly away, Eliza must’ve appreciated it up to her last breath.

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Burr’s words break the silence. “She passed around ten minutes ago,” he mumbles to Alex. “She was so out of it, I hardly think she felt anything at that point.”

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Aaron’s gaze is sad, but empathetic. Alex thinks he must be trying to make him feel better for not being there for her, but it isn’t working. All he can do is stare dumbly at his other best friend that he’s also lost this painful night that he couldn’t be with, either. His tear ducts begin to swell once more, but his body is so drained that he can hardly give it the energy that it needs to spill from his eyes.

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“We have a big problem, guys,” Thomas interrupts fearfully, calling their attention to him. “John, Laf, and Hercules are all dead, and we could be next if we don’t get the fuck out of here.”

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A tense silence follows his words, the only sign giving that anyone heard him being the new onslaught of sniffles coming from Maria and Sam. “We can’t leave just yet, Thomas,” Washington’s voice cracks. “We’ve lost so much, we’re exhausted…”

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“Do you all want to fucking die, too?!” Thomas demands. Alex clenches his fists at the commanding yet terrified tone.

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“Please, don’t make us go now, Tom,” Angelica says quietly, a pitiful squeak.

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“I don’t want to die!” Maria shouts suddenly, jumping to her feet. “I agree with Thomas, we need to _leave!_ ” She stumbles for a second, her eyes looking crazed. Alex winces at the terrifying sight, feeling a panic attack starting to settle deep into his bones. _We’re all going mad._

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“We won’t die so long as we get out of here, now,” Thomas tells her, stomping over to Washington and shaking the much taller man out of his stupor. He doesn’t even seem to comprehend what Thomas is doing, even as he shouts, “Come on, man! We’re leaving, _right now!_ ”

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“What about Eliza?” Angelica questions, looking up at Thomas through wet eyes.

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“And the three guys?” Sam asks. “Aren’t their bodies still out in the woods…?”

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“We don’t have _time_ to worry about all of this right now,” Thomas presses, exasperated. “If we want to escape with our lives, then we need to get out of here before what killed our group members comes and kills us, too.”

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“I think I’d rather just stay here,” Angelica says, running her fingers through Eliza’s black hair. “I can’t leave my sister behind, guys. I won’t leave her behind.”

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“You _have_ to!” Thomas says, walking over to Angelica and forcefully grabbing her arm. She starts shouting protests, her expression reverting to fury as she tries to beat Thomas away from her. Alex wants to go and help him, needing him right now, but he just stares as the scene unfolds before him. Eliza’s body falls limply from Angelica’s grip, and the woman gives a grief-stricken wail when she hits the forest floor with a _thud_.

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The sound of her body hitting the ground snaps Alex back into reality. He whirls in the direction of Sam, pointing at him and saying, “Make sure what’s left of our supplies is packed up. We’re leaving in a few minutes.” Sam, although clearly suffering as much as the others, nods determinedly and sprints for the bags. Alex knows they're no longer safe here, they're technically not safe _anywhere_ , but he agrees with Thomas wholeheartedly when he says they have to get out of the clearing as soon as possible.

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Alex watches Angelica thrash around in Thomas’s arms, as well as Maria and Burr get their bearings and stand next to each other as they await what to do. Washington seems to have wordlessly shifted his leadership over to Thomas, but Alex couldn’t blame him. He’s had to stay strong for them for so long, he deserves to be able to break down, too. Alex wouldn’t know how to handle this situation either, he’s surprised Thomas was able to take control so quickly after witnessing the slain bodies of their friends and coming back to a group that’s loosening their grip on their sanity.

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“Are we still good on our supplies, Sam?” Thomas asks as the man slips his arms through the straps of his backpack, heading over to where they’ve gathered.

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Sam shrugs pathetically. “All of it is able to fit in this bag, now,” he states with a sigh.

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“That’s okay for now,” Thomas decides, fastening his arm around Angelica, who has since calmed down from her own panic attack. Her head hangs down, the tangled curls of her hair hiding whatever emotion was written on her face. Without needing to think about it, Alex walks over to her and Thomas, slipping his own arm through hers to help her stand up. She doesn’t resist him.

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“Where are we gonna go?” Maria questions.

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“Anywhere away from here,” Thomas answers as he and Alex help Angelica walk forwards. “Maybe we can find another trail that’ll take us to a highway, and we can wait for help to find us there.”

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The group appears to agree with his plan, and they allow him and Alex to lead the way forwards, leaving behind the clearing. Alex swallows as he remembers the dead bodies they’re leaving behind, an eerie feeling creeping up his back at the thought. He doesn’t dare turn around and look behind him, not wanting to be faced with the lifeless corpses of his loved ones, watching as they leave them all behind.

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_You’ll never know how sorry I am that I had to do this_ , he thinks as they follow the opposite direction of the stream, growing farther and farther away from his best friends by the second. Soon enough, the smell of death no longer lingers in the air.

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It feels as if someone’s watching him, and turning to the side, he sees Thomas looking at him. His gaze is open and vulnerable, as if to tell him that he isn’t as brave as he may have sounded back at their camp. Alex’s face twists into an expression of sorrow, wanting to be held by him right now and talk to him about all that’s happened between them, but they can’t pause right now. Alexander is in full survival mode now, despite his heartbreak for John, Lafayette, Hercules, and Eliza.

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He hopes that if they’re somehow watching him, they can forgive him.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i told yalls asses i wasn't abandoning this shit >:)
> 
> HEY SO it's been awhile... lmao
> 
> I read through all your comments though, even though I didn't reply to a lot of them, cause I'm dead serious when I say I haven't been on this account in months... and honestly all of your guys' support just makes my heart so happy <3 i'm so sorry I left off where I did, that was so cruel of me lmao..
> 
> well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm sorry if I got any info messed up and forgive any mistakes. thanks for being patient with me, though. I love you all <3


	11. Chapter 11

_seven horses struggling in the sea  
waiting for someone to find them_

 

It's been a few days since they left their camp and their dead friends behind.

While they've been trekking through the woods, Alexander can't help feeling anxious that they've missed their shot to being rescued. As they pass by every tree and crunch sticks under their feet, he wonders if anyone that's searched for them has walked the same path he's walking with him and his group in mind. He believes they should set up a new camp somewhere and continue to wait, but Thomas is so persistent on finding their exit to these endless woods. Alex continues feeling that instinctual annoyance when he disagrees with him, but in a way, he knows the logic behind his reasoning. He wants to go home just as badly as any of them.

That almost seems impossible, however. They strayed too far from the roads that the three men who captured them would have taken out of town in order to avoid being seen by them again, even if they wanted to go back and risk walking down those pathways. To Alex, he _feels_ that they're taking the right path, staying close to the stream and hunting its fish so they don't run out of their supplies as well as avoid walking in circles, but he questions if the stream is misleading them as well. Why would they be allowed one good stroke of luck, anyways?

Currently, they've been walking since the start of the day for hours, and Alexander knows this as a fact due to the sun is now hanging lower in the horizon, out of sight from them. He's learned to appreciate the small things nowadays, and he lets out a small, relieved sigh as the sky begins to change its colors while preparing for the night. The heat has been becoming too much for him, burning his skin and weighing him down. Blisters had begun to form on his neck from sunburn, and while it hurts, it's more of an inconvenience more than anything. The warm air doesn't help his headache either, which he's starting to openly complain about whenever it gets too bad.

It pulses with another agonizing shot at his brain, as if reminding him that its there and could hurt him at any moment it desires. He grits his teeth and inhales sharply, starting to feel dizzy. He tries to put it out of his mind and keep walking, not wanting to slow them down, but the pain is too present for him to just ignore. He hears a few footsteps pause, and he doesn't want to look up to see his group members watching him with pity.

 _I don't need their pity_ , he thinks indignantly as he forces himself to keep walking. _I'm just as capable as they are to keep going, even with a screwed up head._

Sam looked him over the other day when he was heaving into the bushes, emptying his dinner into the green brush. While asking his symptoms and Alexander providing answers for him, Sam alerted him to the fact that he could have a concussion. The group has been uncharacteristically nice to him since Sam brought it to their attention, and it's irritated him. At least Thomas has been keeping up their usual banter when they take their breaks, not necessarily treating him any better, but still being cautious whenever Alex provides signs that he's in too bad of shape.

He's still not entirely used to Thomas being so sweet to him, but he appreciates it nonetheless. They haven't had a moment in private to talk yet, and Alex really wants that chance to come soon less he explode from the tension hanging between them. He's so confused about their relationship now, and having a possible concussion is doing nothing to make it better for him. He knows it's a pointless thing to stress over in such a dire situation, but with nothing else to keep his mind occupied to distract him from their woodland survival life, it's all he can think about.

A hand rests on his shoulder, and Alexander brings his gaze slightly over to see who it is. The tall figure of Washington is watching him with concerned eyes, and he says gently, "You're pushing yourself too much, Alexander." 

Frustrated with himself, Alex shrugs it off and stubbornly continues forward, even though every else has stopped to see what's distracting them. "I'm fine," he assures them, speaking above the racing blood in his ears. He knows very well that he's going to pass out any second if he keeps forcing himself to go forward, yet he can't give up. He doesn't want to be an inconvenience to them.

Sam's voice pipes up behind Washington, "Alex, c'mon. You need to take it easy if you want to get any better."

Alex groans in annoyance, knowing that he's right, but not wanting to admit it. He normally would look to Thomas to tell them all that they have to keep going, that Alexander Hamilton won't be the thing that slows them down, but he's been too soft on him lately. The man in question doesn't say anything, but Alex lifts his eyes to see Thomas looking over everyone. It's not until now that Alex turns around to stare at the other group members and take in their conditions also.

They're all just as exhausted as he is. Angelica is staring at nothing at her right side, her face and clothes caked with mud and dirt. She hasn't bothered to bathe in the stream for days, and although Alexander doesn't necessarily mind since they've been in far worse places, he knows it's unlike her to stop taking care of herself. Maria isn't any better, looking completely strung up with her hair wiry and frayed above her anxiety-driven expression. She looks like she could fall apart at any moment as well.

Surprised with himself for not paying attention sooner, he looks at Aaron to see how far the man has actually fallen behind. His feet are clearly too heavy for his body to move forward at the speed they're demanding, and even though they're far apart from each other, Alex can tell how badly he's shaking with sweat shining off of his forehead. A cold feeling settles into his stomach as he takes notice to all of this. While he was so busy worrying about keeping up with his friends, he was probably more farther ahead than any of them.

He feels awful for pushing them, and himself, so hard.

Finally, Thomas's voice speaks up with his decision, "Okay, we ought to take a rest now and have something to eat before we keep going."

Alex sinks to the ground gratefully, and the others do the same. Aaron rests against one of the trees, and Angelica sits by herself, staring blankly at the stream. Samuel pulls out some of what Alex knows is the last of their canned food and he watches as he tries to sit down and coax Angelica into eating, but she doesn't even seem to realize he's there. He prods and nudges at her shoulder, but it's obvious that her mind is elsewhere from her body. It makes Alex feel quite helpless.

Sam clearly feels the same way, as Alex sees his head lower dejectedly. He says something to her as he begins to get to his feet, but he can't make out what it was.

Then, a quiet whisper, "Hey," speaks above Alex, and he carefully looks up to meet a pair of gorgeous black eyes. A nervous chill seeps into his veins, but he steels himself and prepares for what he and Thomas will talk about. _I have to talk to him before I don't ever get the chance to,_ he reminds himself. His pride tries to force itself in the way of his voice, but Alex does his best to push it down. _This is necessary._

The tall man lowers himself on the ground next to Alex. He notices a struggle written on Alexander's face, and as he asks, "What's wrong--?" Sam walks over with a can to the two men. He looks guilty for only bringing one over to the two of them, but Thomas takes it from his grasp with a thankful nod, and he asks, "How's Angelica doing?"

Sam steals a glance in the woman's direction, and he sighs sadly. "I think losing Eliza really got to her," he informs them. "She hasn't been eating the past few days and she's clearly losing her strength because of it. I... I don't know what to do, Thomas." He buries his head in his hands. With a muffled groan, he says, "I just want to help her, but I don't know what to say or do to make it better. I don't wanna lose her too."

A sorrowful note plays a tune in Alexander's heartstrings as he hears the genuine sadness in his tone. He doesn't know what he'd do if they lost Angelica as well, but it's just as painful watching the woman who carried strength and confidence in her bones have them break and reduce her into an insane mess. He won't give up on her as long as she still lives, though, and he knows the rest of them feel the same way.

"We'll make sure she's okay," Thomas promises Sam. "Angelica is strong. Just stick to her side and make sure she doesn't wander off, okay? I'm not sure she's in her right mind right now." He looks at the woman, and Alexander follows in his lead, watching as she draws shapes and patterns into the dirt. She still seems to be unaware that she's doing anything.

Sam nods at his direction. "I'll do my best," he declares, then hurries back to take his spot that he had next to her.

Alexander watches him with a sense of bitter pride. Thomas voices his thoughts out loud as they see him continue to poke and beg her to eat, "Sam's come so far considering what he's been through."

"I can't imagine the kinds of horrors he's had to witness," Alexander states with a shake of his head. "I'm sure he's more eager than any of us to get out of here and see his family again."

"We're quite lucky that we've had someone like him to help us. He's too nice to have been put through so much shit."

Alex huffs a humorless laugh of agreement. They're quiet until Thomas turns to face Alex and meet his eyes with a look of seriousness. He says, "I asked you what was wrong earlier, Alex."

Those few words make Alex's heart quicken in its beat. _This is it._ He takes in a breath and decides that there's no way to ease either of them into this conversation, so he goes with the upfront question, "What do you want from me, Thomas?"

The man freezes, although he doesn't seem to be caught off guard by the question. Alex can't stand his silence, not knowing what it means, and he makes up for it by rambling, "I just--I don't know, I'm so confused. Ever since that night we had together, I can't stop thinking about you, y'know, and I just want to be by your side at all times. I'm so scared of losing everyone else, and I know we're supposed to hate each other and whatnot, but I just don't know how I'd be able to live with myself if I lost you too--"

Thomas presses a hand against Alexander's chest, slowing him down and ending his terrified rant. Alex still breathes in quickly, and although he knows he shouldn't put any more strain on himself, he can't stop the panic from settling in. What would he actually do if Thomas were to die this night? Washington would of course take over once more and help keep the group motivated, just as Thomas is doing in his place, but how long would it be until they lost Washington, too? Maria, Angelica, and Burr are no way capable of helping themselves, and Alex couldn't keep a hold on all of them. Sam wouldn't be able to handle the pressure, either. They'd be nothing but lost puppies without their mother. _Christ,_ everything is fading in and out of his vision...

Alexander feels Thomas cover his hands with his own, and it isn't until he feels the warmth of his palms that he realizes his hands are clenched too tightly in the fabric of Thomas's clothing. Thomas brings his arm around Alex's shoulder and allows him to lean into his embrace as he emphasizes, "Alex, I'm not just going to leave you and the others so quickly. Does it seriously seem at all that I've grown weaker?" When Alex doesn't answer, Thomas says with a grin, "'Cause honestly, if Alexander Hamilton is seriously crying because he's worrying so much about me, I should probably be concerned."

Sniffing a slight laugh, Alex shakes his head and assures him, "No, no, you seem to be doing fairly well considering..."

He stiffens as the images play again in his mind. John's twisted head, his mouth agape in a silent gasp as blood pools from his wounds. Lafayette's body, mangled and hidden from his sight, but still so clearly lifeless. Eliza, Theodosia, James, Hercules, all gone...

Thomas interrupts his thought process, obviously knowing what he's thinking about. "No, Alex, that isn't going to happen to me. I _won't_ let it happen, I mean it." Then, after a brief moment of silence, he clears his throat and says through a forced voice, "Look, I--um. I don't expect a lot from you, Alex, but, y'know... being by your side during all of this shit isn't so bad. I think by the time we get out of this, we can straighten some things out, but for now, just."

He stops, and Alex takes over for him, "Let's just stick together and whatever happens, happens." Thomas offers a slight smile, pulling him a bit closer. His neck bursts with pain at the contact, but he does his best to put it out of mind in favor of being close to Thomas now. Alex, for all that's happened to them, feels a spark of real glee as he leans into his grip. He melts into the safety that he wordlessly offers, overjoyed to be by someone who can act so rational during such terrible times. He knows that he misjudged Thomas terribly for everything, and he hopes that after this whole ordeal is over, they can finally put their petty differences aside and see where life takes them.

A few minutes pass, and Alex suddenly feels the eyes of the camp on him and Thomas. Although he doesn't want to see how they react to them, he can't help his eyelids open with curiosity. Washington and Sam hold no look of real shock or surprise, but what gives away their confusion is their lifted eyebrows. Angelica, Burr, and Maria don't seem to even notice, but then again, Alex can hardly see Aaron's expression from where he sits at in his shadowed tree. _At least this isn't too big of a deal to them,_ Alex decides, feeling fine with himself and Thomas as he digs ravenously into their canned food.

Although he isn't entirely filled up, he feels a lot better now that he's had something to eat. He also feels much more sleepier, and the warm hug that Thomas has Alex trapped in is an ideal spot. He nuzzles his head into the other man's chest, which Thomas accepts gratefully. As he drifts off to sleep, Alex thinks about how his conversation with Thomas wasn't as satisfying as he had hoped for, but he's glad he got something out of it. There's a possibility for something more between them, and yeah, he accepts that maybe it's just the crushing loneliness they're both enduring of having no one else by their side and things could change when they leave, but he truly believes there's something there for them, waiting on the other side.

 _All that's left to do,_ his last coherent thought voices in his mind as sleep takes over him, _is survive this hellhole and make it back home._

...

_Alexander finds himself sitting on the porch of the cabin where Reynolds, Lee, and King reside. A grassy plain engulfs the entirety of his surroundings, and Alex wonders for a second where all the trees went, but he's glad he can finally see the sunset again. The sky looks absolutely beautiful, and he knows how lucky he is to be able to witness the sight. He almost forgot what it looked like._

_Then, behind him he hears a door creaking. He doesn't have to turn around, because he already knows it's John that's come out to greet him. His curly-haired friend takes the spot next to him and says politely, "It's nice to see you again, Alex. We missed you."_

_It feels as if an arrow shot through his stomach at John's words, but Alex only nods. He can't bring himself to look at him, feeling a sense of dread in his heart when it crosses his mind._

_There's a moment that graces them where neither speak, as if John expected him to fill it. However, when Alex doesn't, he hears the frown in John's voice as the man sadly tells him, "Thomas isn't coming for you, Alex. They've left you behind, remember?"_

_A memory that Alex didn't even know he had takes over the landscape, and he's suddenly washed into a familiar land of dense trees along with the putrid stench of death. John is no longer by his side, and as he attempts to turn his head frantically around to find him, he finds that he can't move at all._ What the fuck? _he thinks, trying to jerk his body around, but it's as if the dirt path has swallowed him up and frozen him in place. Thomas and the others stand over him as he lies down on the ground, unable to move. He desperately tries to lift his arm, his leg, his hands,_ anything _, but he's completely immobilized. Washington shakes his head sadly, and Sam is the first to turn away from him._

 __Wait! _he cries out to them in his mind, mentally thrashing but unable to make his body show off the utter terror they're forcing upon him._ Come back! I'm alive! I'm alive! __

 _They make no acknowledgements to hearing him, not even Thomas. Alexander tries shouting at him, but his mouth won't open either. All he can do is watch with scared eyes as Thomas looks coldly down at Alexander's body, then walks away without saying anything._ No! _he shrieks, yet of course, he doesn't make a sound. Christ, he's truly going to die out here..._

__

__

Then, John's soft voice returns to him and whispers his name sympathetically, "Alex..." Now, Alex finds himself able to stand, and he jumps to his feet without hesitation and looks his best friend directly now.

 _Blood gushes from his forehead, dripping down his cheeks that are perked up with a small smile. Alex chokes at the sight, and he stumbles backwards before John can say anything else._ Dear God, John _, he whimpers in his mind as his friend nears closer to him,_ I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, please...

_John nods, as if understanding his thoughts, and says his name once more, "Alexander..." He reaches out a grayed hand and tightly grasps Alexander's neck, which in turn sends a bolt of hot ice shooting through his body. It leaves Alex petrified in agony, and he opens his mouth to shriek from the hellish torment..._

Then, Alex finds his eyes suddenly opening wide at the sound of someone pleading, "Alex, wake up, please," while also shaking his shoulder to jolt him back to reality.

The sky has started to become a lighter blue, telling the group below it that another day is on the rise. The air around them smells strange, a hint of dew but something else as well. Alexander, still weighed down from the exhaustion, barely makes out who it is that's standing above him, blocking most of his view of his surroundings. He weakly lifts his arm--and takes a moment to be grateful that he can finally do that again-- and rubs his eyes, then notices that the figure positioned in front of his field of vision is none other than Sam. Alex finds that odd, and when he turns to the side, he notices that Thomas isn't sitting with him anymore.

That's enough to wake him up, and he's on his feet in seconds. Alex demands immediately to the smaller man, "What's happened?"

Sam grabs onto Alex's arm without explaining and pulls him in the direction of Aaron's tree. He's still underneath it, and now he has someone else by his side. He notices that it's Thomas that is sitting by his side, knowing it's him based on his posture underneath the deep shadows that shield them. Alexander doesn't get why he'd wake him up for this, until he feels a pit form in his stomach. He asks Sam, "Is Aaron...?"

Sam doesn't even need to confirm it before Alex knows the answer. Now that he's gotten closer to him, he can tell that Burr's eyelids are shut halfway with his jaw hanging from his face. Thomas had been examining him, and as he stands up, he looks to Sam and Alex, pained and nauseous. Then, Sam whispers to him before he can run over to Thomas and ask for more information, "He's not the only one we lost through the night, Alex."

Numbly, Alex turns to face Sam fully. _Are you serious?_ He doesn't ask who, but Samuel shifts in another direction to look at another figure, hiding as well with another person examining them. Alexander assumes its Washington, and he's correct when he sees the man's eyebrows furrow and turn away darkly. He doesn't know who is underneath the tree, and he's not sure he wants to, but he doesn't want to become _that_ mentally unstable that he doesn't bother to care about who they lost now. He steps closer, looking at the dirt-covered shoes that poke out from the body. Their arms seem loose from their body as they sag against the bark of the tree, and after catching a glimpse of the hair, he recognizes Maria.

_Fuck._

Washington approaches Alex and Sam with a grim look, giving a shake of his head just as Thomas does as well. Alex wants to be strong, just as they all would want from him, but the power he tries to command into his voice comes out as nothing more than a pathetic squeak as he asks, "What the hell did I miss?"

It's a few seconds until someone--Sam-- is ready to speak up. "I was trying to coax Aaron into eating earlier, but he wasn't answering me," he begins. "I thought he'd get hungry enough soon, just like Angelica did after enough pushing, but he wasn't responding to anything I said. I sat down next to him and tried talking to him some more, but then I noticed he wasn't breathing."

A hush falls over their group. Alex can't take it, and he says through gritted teeth, "What about Maria?"

Washington is the one to fill him in, now. "Poor girl has suffered through so much," he muses. "She had to suffer all of the trauma with Reynolds, and I guess her sanity slipped away from her the more she was pushed to keep up with us." Bringing a hand up to his neck, he admits, "I didn't think she or Aaron would make it this long, honestly. They were both so weak after what happened back at the cabin."

Alexander bristles at that, unable to help his defensiveness as he snaps, "They were perfectly strong. We all suffered trauma after what happened, it's just--"

" _Please_ , let's not do this now," Sam begs. "I can't bear to be here anymore around their bodies, it's gonna make me throw up."

They all agree. "Go get Angelica," Thomas orders, to which Sam immediately hurries off to do. Turning to face Washington and Alex, Thomas says, "Look, I don't expect a lot from Angelica since she just lost Eliza and is in a lot of pain, but it seems you guys are doing okay enough right now to get moving. Am I right?"

Washington and Alex nod quickly. _I don't want to be left behind._

Thomas nods back as Angelica and Sam hurry to approach them, then lifts his chin proudly and says, "We're going to get out of here, okay? Even if it's months from now, we are going to get the hell out of here. It's all going to be okay."

Nobody speaks in response except for a few quick words of agreement that sound forced. It's depressing, but regardless of how they feel, it's enough to boost Alex's downhearted spirits and give him some kind of empowerment. He looks at him with pride and musters up as much confidence as he can. He has to believe what Thomas tells them, or else he'll have already given up. After seeing the determined glimmer in his eyes, Alex finds relief to know Thomas isn't just saying that to make them feel better. Either he's a great actor, or he truly does believe his own words.

"He's right, everyone," Alex says, deciding to back him up. "We're all strong enough to get through this, aren't we? We'll live and tell the stories of our friends and make sure they didn't die for nothing."

Thomas flashes him a grateful look, to which Alex returns with a small, kind smile. _It's so weird that I'm starting to agree with you more and more these days._

The only one Alexander feels some sort of concern for is Angelica. He knows that she has Sam to keep her going though if not anyone else, and Sam would never give up on her while he still can breathe. He also feels that Washington feels a lot more exhausted than he's letting on, but the man would never admit it to their faces. Alex has a feeling _he_ might have to be the one to actually remind _him_ to take it easy and not overdo it. Although Alex does feel the dull pain hitting around in his head, he knows he can suffer a little concussion and be okay. He's been through far worse trials than this anyways, all he has to do is survive. With his friends at his side, he knows it'll be okay.

Without warning, his dream comes back to him now as Washington goes to pick up their backpack. He becomes distracted by the memory of his dear friend, talking to him about his deepest fear as if nothing was out of the ordinary. His eyes were so cold, holding nothing in their dreaded depths, even though he spoke to Alex with such kindness and empathy. Of course he'd know how it feels to be left behind, too...

Alex tries to snap out of it, even though he can still see the blood flow from John's head. He can't think about it right now, he can't.

Guilt threatens to tear down his newfound energy, but Thomas steps in and clasps a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get out of here, Alex," he whispers again in final confirmation. Alex takes a shaky breath, but gives another grin in return as to not worry him.

"Of course we will," he agrees as they regroup at the edge of the stream. The sun fills the sky with a newly pale blue color in place of its darkness, lighting the water and giving it the impression of it sparkling. Alex finds comfort in watching the monotone stream provide a river of water coursing through the forest, allowing it to be his new distraction as they carry themselves down the path it forms.

_Their bodies._

A mental image of all of his lost friends shows itself in front of his vision, blocking the view he has of the path. It catches him off guard, and he hurries to blink it out, but it's proving to be much more difficult.

_They're screaming, begging for death from someone Alex can't see._

He looks down at the ground directly in front of him, which appears to be more blood-soaked than usual. He cautiously lifts his feet, watching as the crimson flow drips from the sole of his shoe. He yelps at the sight of it, covering his eyes in a silent demand for them to go away.

"Alex!" a voice suddenly breaks the noise of the dead shrieking in his ears. He opens his eyes to see Washington and Thomas staring at him in confusion and concern, Thomas hurrying over to him and asking, "What's wrong? Do you need to stop and take a break?"

Alex is shaken by the sight he was just introduced to, but he brushes it off the best he can. He reminds himself that he's going to be okay and he'll get out of here eventually, a few creepy thoughts won't stop him from achieving their goal. He just has to keep that in mind...

He nods before it can come off anymore strange to them. "I'll be okay," he assures them, then walks past Thomas to keep ahead of the group. The man doesn't seem to believe him with how stiffly he walks next to him now, but Alex doesn't feel bothered enough by it to care. He can keep going for however long they need him to, no matter what they think.

As they walk, the sun boiling down on their bodies, they start to enter a new area that they haven't encountered yet in the woods. The smell of a fresh spring washes over Alex as they get closer to it. A louder sound of rushing water begins to grow as they approach, to which Thomas takes the lead in case there are any cliffs or drop offs ahead of them. Once they reach the edge of the stream, Alex sees what they were hearing.

A powerful waterfall pours down the end of the cliff, crashing with a thundering noise at the bottom. It continues on into a much more peaceful and slower river along with another stretch of woodland, going on with no promise of a soon end. Although it doesn't offer much for the group, it's quite a gorgeous sight to see after having nothing but trees follow their every move for weeks.

Alex admires it for a few seconds while Washington and Thomas converse with each other. The water looks incredibly serene as it slips down the cliff's edge, and Alex is tempted to dip his toes in the water just to feel its coursing stream beat down on his tired feet, but he isn't stupid enough to try something like that. He simply looks and thinks, allowing it to ground him and bring him back to a sense of stability.

A few moments go by until Thomas speaks and declares, "We all need to rest. We'll stay around here, but we'll track back a little bit so we aren't so near these cliffs." Everyone gives a wordless acknowledgement to their decision, and he follows them a few hundred feet back. The waterfall's strong downpour is still evident in his hearing range, which Alex finds pleasing.

The sun still hangs hotly in the sky, but Alex is far too exhausted to care about that. He shifts around on the dirt until he reaches a comfortable enough position. His neck still aches with the blisters, but thankfully, his body pulls him down into a state of unconsciousness before he can become too concerned by it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow?? another update?? who'da thunk it
> 
> haha guys i'm so mf sorry for forcing so much death lmao just expect everything to get worse at this point tbh if you haven't been already
> 
> ALTHOUGH if my ass ever gets around to finishing this then don'tcha worry the ending will be (somewhat) satisfying,,


End file.
